How do I decide whether to repair or replace something?
A framework for the repair-or-replace decision covering cost, remaining life, reliability and the things people forget to count.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 30 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
Compare the repair cost against the replacement cost, but weight it by how much life the repair buys. A rough rule: if the repair costs more than half the replacement price and the item is past half its expected life, replace it. Also count the cost of it failing again at a bad moment.
The repair-or-replace decision is usually made emotionally — either attachment to the existing item or the appeal of something new. A short calculation gives a defensible answer, and the variable people most often ignore is how much remaining life the repair actually buys.
Step by step
- Get an actual repair quote rather than estimating.Diagnosis often costs something, but guessing at repair costs is how bad decisions get made.
- Find the real replacement cost for an equivalent item, including delivery and installation.The headline price is rarely the total. Installation and disposal of the old item both count.
- Estimate how much life the repair buys.A new part in an otherwise worn machine may last months; in an otherwise sound one, years. Ask the repairer.
- Compare cost per year of remaining life for each option.A £150 repair buying two years is £75/year. A £600 replacement lasting eight years is £75/year. That's a genuine tie, decided by other factors.
- Apply the rough rule: past half its expected life and the repair costs more than half the replacement, replace it.It's a heuristic rather than a law, but it captures most cases correctly.
- Factor in running costs.A much more efficient replacement can pay back part of the difference, particularly for appliances used daily.
- Count the cost of another failure.An unreliable item that fails at a bad moment has a cost beyond the repair bill — especially for a boiler or a car.
- Check the warranty and whether the fault is covered before paying for anything.People routinely pay for repairs that would have been free.
Tips
- Repairs are usually better value early in an item's life and worse late in it. The same repair on a two-year-old and a ten-year-old machine are very different propositions.
- Check whether spare parts are still available and how long the manufacturer commits to supplying them. A repairable item with no parts isn't repairable.
- Repair cafés and independent repairers are often far cheaper than manufacturer service, particularly out of warranty.
- Environmental cost favours repair, and it's a legitimate factor even when the arithmetic is marginal.
Common mistakes
- Deciding without a repair quote — Estimated repair costs are usually wrong in both directions, and the decision hinges on the number.
- Ignoring how much life the repair buys — A cheap repair on a worn-out machine is money spent to delay the same decision by six months.
- Forgetting installation and disposal costs — They can add substantially to the real replacement cost.
- Not checking the warranty first — People pay for repairs that were covered. Always check before authorising work.
Questions people ask
Is there a rule of thumb?
A common one: if the repair costs more than half the replacement price and the item is past half its expected lifespan, replace it. It's a heuristic, and the cost-per-year-of-remaining-life comparison is more reliable.
Does a more efficient replacement pay for itself?
Sometimes, for appliances that run constantly — fridges and freezers in particular. Work out the actual annual running cost difference rather than assuming; the payback is often longer than marketing suggests.