Buying guide
Repair it or replace it? How to decide
An appliance breaks, a technician quotes a number, and you have to decide in about a minute whether that number is sensible. Here's the framework we use, and it's the same one we apply when deciding whether a unit is worth putting on our own floor.
Written by the One Stop Appliances team · Updated September 12, 2026
How long appliances actually last
Start by working out where the appliance sits in its life. These are typical service lives under normal household use:
| Appliance | Typical life | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | 10–18 years | Sealed system failure usually ends it |
| Chest / upright freezer | 12–20 years | Simplest sealed system, often outlives a fridge |
| Electric range | 13–16 years | Elements and controls are replaceable |
| Gas range | 15–18 years | Longest-lived major appliance in most homes |
| Washer | 10–13 years | Front-load bearing is the common terminal fault |
| Dryer | 10–14 years | Few parts, nearly all of them inexpensive |
| Dishwasher | 9–12 years | Shortest life of the majors |
| Over-the-range microwave | 8–10 years | Magnetron failure is usually terminal |
An appliance in the first half of that range with a well-understood fault is generally worth repairing. One in the last quarter usually isn't, because fixing the part that failed today does nothing about the three others that are equally worn.
The 50% rule, and its better version
The common advice is: don't spend more than 50% of the cost of a replacement on repairing the old one. It's a reasonable starting point, but it ignores the two things that matter most — how much life is left, and what a replacement actually costs you.
A better version: compare the cost per remaining year. Take the repair quote and divide it by the years you can reasonably expect to get afterward. Then take the replacement cost and divide it by that unit's expected life. Whichever number is smaller is the better deal.
Worked through: a $300 repair on a 4-year-old washer that should then run another 7 years is about $43 per year. A $600 tested used replacement with maybe 8 years ahead of it is $75 per year. Repair wins clearly. Now move that same $300 repair onto a 12-year-old washer with perhaps 2 years left — that's $150 a year, and replacement wins just as clearly. Same quote, opposite answer, and the only variable is age.
This is also why a used appliance changes the arithmetic. If replacement means a $1,500 new machine, a marginal repair on an old unit starts looking defensible. If replacement means a tested used unit at a third of that, the repair has to be genuinely cheap to compete.
Repairs that are almost always worth it
- Dryer: heating element, thermal fuse, belt, rollers, idler pulley. Inexpensive parts on a machine that's otherwise fine.
- Washer: drain pump, inlet valve, lid switch, door boot, shock absorbers.
- Range: a single surface element, a bake or broil element, a burner igniter, an oven thermostat.
- Fridge: door gasket, defrost heater or thermostat, evaporator fan motor, blocked defrost drain, thermostat.
- Dishwasher: drain pump, spray arm, door latch, seals.
What these have in common is that they're bolt-on parts reached without dismantling the machine. Labour is short and the part is cheap.
Failures that mean it's finished
- Refrigerator compressor or sealed-system leak. The repair requires recovery, brazing and recharging, and on a domestic fridge it rarely makes economic sense.
- Front-load washer main bearing. The machine has to be split; labour alone usually exceeds a sound used replacement.
- Washer transmission or drive hub on an older top-loader.
- A cracked glass cooktop. It must be replaced before use, and the part is a significant fraction of the appliance's value.
- Main control board on an older appliance. Boards are expensive, often back-ordered, and on a unit past ten years you're buying a new brain for a tired body.
- Any structural rust-through, particularly where water is involved.
- Microwave magnetron. On an over-the-range unit the part plus labour typically approaches the price of a replacement.
Things people forget to count
- The diagnostic fee. Most technicians charge to come out, and it's usually credited against the repair — but only if you go ahead with it.
- Running cost. Replacing a 20-year-old fridge often pays for a meaningful chunk of itself in hydro savings over a few years. Replacing a 20-year-old dryer does not; dryers haven't changed nearly as much.
- Parts availability. Manufacturers are not obliged to stock parts forever. On a unit past fifteen years, confirm the part exists before committing to a repair.
- Whether it's part of a set. Replacing one of a matched laundry pair is fine functionally, and only annoying aesthetically — which is worth exactly what it's worth to you.
- Second and third failures. If an appliance has needed two repairs in two years, the third quote is not really about the third part.
Where used fits
A tested second-hand appliance sits between repairing something tired and buying something new, and it's often the honest answer. You get a unit with most of its life ahead of it, at a price that doesn't make you think twice about replacing it again in a decade. The condition is that it has actually been tested — which is why we plug in every unit and run it through a full cycle before it goes on the floor, and back it for 30 days afterward. A used appliance nobody has run is just a gamble with a discount attached.
Want a second opinion on a specific unit?
We're at 593 Barton St E, Hamilton, ON L8L 2Z6, Canada, open daily 10am–6pm. Bring the model number, or call and describe the problem — we'll tell you straight whether it's worth fixing.