When to Repair vs Replace an Appliance

The conventional rule is the 50% rule: if a repair costs more than 50% of the cost of a comparable new unit, replace rather than repair. The rule is a useful starting point but ignores age, energy efficiency, and the specific component that failed. A four-year-old refrigerator with a failed defrost board (a $200 repair on a $1,200 fridge) is an obvious repair. A twelve-year-old refrigerator with a failed compressor (a $500 repair on a $1,200 fridge) is an obvious replacement.

Age matters because reliability follows a bathtub curve — high failure rates in the first year, low and stable for the next five to seven, then climbing rapidly. A failure at year nine is a leading indicator of more failures coming, while a failure at year three is usually a one-time fix. As a rough rule, repair until age seven and seriously evaluate replace after age ten.

Energy efficiency changes the math for refrigerators and HVAC. A fifteen-year-old refrigerator uses two to three times the electricity of a current Energy Star unit; the lifetime energy savings of replacement often exceed the price difference within four to five years. A fifteen-year-old air conditioner is even more lopsided — modern units are 50-100% more efficient and qualify for federal tax credits and utility rebates that the old unit cannot.

Specific failed parts have specific implications. A failed sealed system (compressor, evaporator coil, condenser coil) on a refrigerator usually means replacement — the repair is expensive, the rest of the unit is the same age, and a cascade of other failures often follows within a year. A failed control board on a relatively new unit is a clear repair. A failed bearing or pump on a washer is a judgment call: cheap if you do it yourself, expensive if you pay a tech.