Repair or replace
Is it worth fixing? Here is the arithmetic
The rule everybody has heard says repair when it costs less than half of replacing. Almost nobody publishes both halves. These are ours, divided.
10 priced repairs50% threshold$80 diagnostic
The denominator
What number are you actually dividing by?
The rule of thumb is simple enough: if the repair costs less than half of replacing the appliance, repair it. What makes it useless in practice is that most people put the appliance's sticker price on the bottom of the fraction, and on a built-in that is not what replacing it costs.
A built-in is a cabinetry component. It sits in an opening cut to its dimensions, behind panels made for that door, wired and plumbed to that position. Swapping it means the appliance, plus delivery and installation, plus disposal, plus whatever the new specification forces on the cabinets around it. Our table puts a comparable built-in at $11,600–$16,800, and custom panels and integrated cabinetry at $2,000–$5,000 on top of it.
That is the denominator. Every percentage below is a repair at the top of its band divided by a replacement at the bottom of its — the arithmetic run in the direction least flattering to repairing.
The division
Where does each repair land against the threshold?
Every row takes the worst case of that repair and weighs it twice: against the cheapest full-size built-in replacement, and against the cheapest wine or undercounter one.
Repair at band maximum Replacement at band minimum
| Repair | Typical range |
Of a built-in $11,600 |
Of a small unit $3,500 | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Door gasket or seal replacement | $230–$600 | 5% | 17% | Repair |
| Evaporator or condenser fan motor | $250–$610 | 5% | 17% | Repair |
| Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor | $240–$590 | 5% | 17% | Repair |
| Ice maker, water valve or supply line | $240–$630 | 5% | 18% | Repair |
| Igniter, spark module or surface element | $210–$560 | 5% | 16% | Repair |
| Oven thermostat or temperature sensor | $190–$610 | 5% | 17% | Repair |
| Convection fan or motor | $270–$670 | 6% | 19% | Repair |
| Dishwasher pump or control | $240–$710 | 6% | 20% | Repair |
| Electronic control board | $440–$1,080 | 9% | 31% | Repair |
| Compressor or sealed-system repair | $860–$2,560 | 22% | 73% | Depends on the unit |
Verdicts are read off the two columns rather than assigned. Under a quarter of the replacement figure on both reads Repair; between a quarter and a half on the built-in reads Judgement call; over half on the built-in reads Weigh it. A repair that clears the threshold on a full-size built-in but not on a wine or undercounter unit reads Depends on the unit, because on those two appliances it is genuinely a different decision.
Reading it
When is the repair clearly worth it?
On a full-size built-in, whenever the fault is one of the 10 repairs above that sit under the threshold — which, against a replacement starting at $11,600, is all of them. Even the dearest job on the table, at $860–$2,560, comes to 22% of that figure at its very top, falling to 19% once the panels a replacement would also need are counted. At the other end, the cheapest repair on the table sits at 5%.
That is not brand loyalty, it is the denominator. The same arithmetic on a mass-market freestanding refrigerator gives the opposite answer, which is exactly why the rule of thumb has the reputation it does.
When is it a judgement call?
When the appliance is small. A wine column, an undercounter refrigerator or a standalone ice machine replaces for $3,500–$5,500, and against that figure 9 of the 10 priced repairs still clear the threshold — but compressor or sealed-system repair lands at 73%, which is the same job and a genuinely different decision. Two more questions settle it: how old is the unit, and is the part still supplied against your serial number.
It is also a judgement call when a second fault is already visible. One failed component on a sound appliance is arithmetic. Two unrelated systems going at once on a well-aged unit is a pattern, and the pattern is worth more than the sum of the two estimates.
When is it not worth it?
Some cases no percentage rescues, and we would rather say so at the diagnostic than after taking money for a repair that buys you a year.
- Structural damage to the cabinet, the liner or the tub. That repair is joinery and refrigeration at once, and it does not end well.
- Corrosion through the case. We see it on coastal and outdoor installations around the Beaches and Ponte Vedra, and a sound component bolted to a failing shell is money spent twice.
- A critical part that is genuinely obsolete. Not superseded — those are routine and we order them weekly. Genuinely unobtainable, on a circuit the appliance cannot run without.
- A kitchen already being gutted. The cabinetry argument is the whole argument, and it disappears the moment the cabinets are coming out anyway.
Age on its own is not on that list. Age is a fact about the appliance, not a diagnosis, and it is the reason the question gets asked rather than the answer to it.
Price bands
What are the two tables in full?
The repair side and the replacement side, as the rest of the site prints them. Nothing on this page is a figure typed into it — every percentage above is these numbers divided.
Completed repairParts and labour
| Repair | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic visit | $80 |
| Door gasket or seal replacement | $230–$600 |
| Evaporator or condenser fan motor | $250–$610 |
| Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor | $240–$590 |
| Ice maker, water valve or supply line | $240–$630 |
| Igniter, spark module or surface element | $210–$560 |
| Oven thermostat or temperature sensor | $190–$610 |
| Convection fan or motor | $270–$670 |
| Dishwasher pump or control | $240–$710 |
| Electronic control board | $440–$1,080 |
| Compressor or sealed-system repair | $860–$2,560 |
Flat $80 diagnostic covering the visit and the full diagnostic sequence, credited toward the repair once you approve the work.
Replacing instead$8,600–$19,400
A comparable built-in refrigerator, appliance only — before delivery, installation, custom panels or cabinetry. Undercounter and wine units sit below this band; replacing a column pair is usually two purchases rather than one. Appliance pricing is national, unlike the labour above.
| What you are buying | Range |
|---|---|
| Typical 36-42 inch built-in, the usual repair-or-replace comparison | $11,600–$16,800 |
| Custom panels and integrated cabinetry, on top of the appliance | $2,000–$5,000 |
| Replacement wine storage or an undercounter unit, appliance only | $3,500–$5,500 |
Repair bands are completed repairs, parts and labour together, before the $80 diagnostic is credited back. Replacement figures are the appliance, and appliance pricing is national in a way labour is not. Your own unit gets its own written figure after the diagnosis.
Questions this raises
Is it ever worth repairing a dishwasher?
A pump or control on a built-in dishwasher runs $240–$710. Against a panelled, integrated machine the answer is usually yes, because replacing one means refitting a custom door and often the cabinetry holding it. Against a plain stainless unit that drops straight into the opening, the argument is much weaker.
Is it worth repairing a cooktop or a rangetop?
Igniter, spark module and surface element work runs $210–$560, and it is what these appliances come in for most. A cooktop sits in an opening cut through a stone worktop, so replacing one is rarely just an appliance purchase — which is what keeps the repair on the right side of the arithmetic.
What is the most expensive part to fix on a cooking appliance?
The electronic control board, at $440–$1,080. Boards are matched to model and serial rather than to an appliance family, so the price is set by the part and not by how long the job takes. Everything mechanical on a professional range — burners, valves, igniters, hinges — costs less than that.
How do I get a replacement figure I can actually compare against?
Ask the dealer for a quote covering delivery, installation, disposal of the old unit and any new panels or trim. Our table puts a comparable built-in at $11,600–$16,800, with custom panels and integrated cabinetry adding $2,000–$5,000 on top. That total is the number to divide by.
Does the same arithmetic hold for a wine cooler or an undercounter unit?
No, and this is where the answer genuinely changes. Replacing one of those runs $3,500–$5,500 for the appliance, so a repair at the top of its band can reach a large share of it. 9 of the 10 priced repairs still clear the threshold there; the sealed system does not.
Is it worth calling someone out if the appliance might not be worth fixing?
That is what the $80 diagnostic is for. None of the arithmetic on this page works without a named fault, and if the honest answer after the diagnosis is that the unit is finished, we say so and that is all you pay. Nothing is opened up before you approve a written price.
Appliance Repair Jax is an independent appliance service company. We are not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Sub-Zero Group, Inc., or any other manufacturer named on this site. All brand names, model numbers and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used here only to identify the appliances we service.
Talk to a technician
Want the arithmetic run on your own appliance?
Tell us the model number and what it is doing. The diagnostic names the failed part, and a written estimate is the only number worth putting into the fraction above.
- $80 flat diagnostic , credited toward the repair
- 2-hour arrival windows, with a call ahead
- Mon–Fri 8am–6pm · Sat 9am–4pm