Repair or Replace? — The Calculator

This is the question everyone actually has before they book, and almost nobody in this trade answers it. Enter what you know and it will show you the arithmetic — the same test our technicians run in your kitchen. It will tell you to replace when replacing is right.

How the test works

The classic rule of thumb is the 50% rule: if the repair costs more than half of replacement, replace. That’s a decent start and a bad finish, because it ignores how much life the machine has left. A $400 repair on a two-year-old refrigerator and a $400 repair on a twelve-year-old one are not the same decision.

So we tighten the threshold as the appliance ages. A machine that has used 70% of its expected service life has to clear a much lower bar to be worth repairing, because you’re buying fewer remaining years with the same money. The calculator shows you the adjusted threshold and the cost per remaining year of service it’s buying.

Typical service lives we use

Two things that push the answer toward repair

Appliance prices have risen. Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs at 50% were extended to refrigerator-freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers and ranges in June 2025; Whirlpool guided to a $225 million tariff impact; major-appliance CPI ran +4.3% in May 2026. Every dollar of appliance inflation raises the replacement cost, which widens the window in which repair wins.

Built-ins are a cabinetry job, not a delivery. If your refrigerator is counter-depth or built-in, or your oven is a wall unit, replacement means matching a cutout that may no longer be manufactured. On those, repair almost always wins — which is why the calculator has separate premium categories.