What you'll need

• The repair quote — the full installed price, not the part price. Include the call-out and diagnostic fee, because that's the number that decides most close calls.
• The replacement cost — what a comparable new unit would cost, delivered and installed. Not the cheapest one on the market; the one that matches what you have.
• The age of the machine — in years.
• What's wrong with it — pick the fault from the dropdown, and the calculator handles the rest.

Everything else — lifespan expectations, repair-frequency thresholds, safety overrides — is built in. The calculator applies the 50% Rule, the Lifespan Rule, the Reliability Rule, the Safety Rule, and the Obsolescence Rule in the correct order, and shows you which one decided the outcome.

All figures are US dollars. If you're elsewhere, enter your own currency — the calculator works on ratios, not absolute amounts.

How the calculator decides

The calculator applies five rules in a fixed order. The order matters more than any individual rule — a safety fault overrides everything, and an unavailable part ends the decision before cost is even considered.

Rule 1: The 50% Rule

If the repair costs more than about half the price of a comparable replacement, replacement usually wins. The word that does the work is comparable — you’re comparing against a machine with similar capacity, features, and quality, not the cheapest one available. And the number to use is the full quote, including the call-out fee, not the part price.

Rule 2: The Lifespan Rule

If the machine has used most of its expected life, replacement offers better value even when the repair passes the cost test. A $150 repair on a twelve-year-old dishwasher is cheap in absolute terms and still a poor bet, because the machine has no margin left.

Rule 3: The Reliability Rule

Multiple breakdowns in a short period mean replacement, regardless of individual repair costs. Two significant repairs in three years, or three in five, and the machine is telling you something. Each individual repair can pass the cost test while the cumulative spend doesn’t.

Rule 4: The Safety Rule

Anything creating a safety hazard moves strongly toward replacement, whatever the cost. A burning smell, a gas leak, scorch marks, or a swelling battery isn’t a cost decision. The calculator treats these as an override — if you select a safety fault, the verdict is bin regardless of the economics.

Rule 5: The Obsolescence Rule

If the part, the software, or the standard no longer exists, the decision is made for you. A discontinued appliance with no parts supply isn’t repairable at any price, and a device whose software is unsupported is functionally obsolete even if the hardware works.

What the calculator can’t tell you

Two honest limitations, because a tool that pretends to certainty is worse than one that doesn’t.

It can’t price your specific machine. The replacement cost you enter is the one the calculator uses — it doesn’t know what a like-for-like replacement costs in your area this week. If you’re unsure, look up two or three comparable models and use the middle figure.

It can’t predict the next failure. The Lifespan Rule prices the risk of a machine at the end of its life; it doesn’t remove it. A machine that scores “repair” can still fail again in three months. The verdict tells you whether the odds justify the bet, not how the bet will land.

What it can do is stop you making the two expensive mistakes: repairing something that should have been replaced, and replacing something over a $30 part. Both happen constantly, and both are avoidable with two numbers and five rules.

Frequently asked questions

Is this calculator free?

Yes. No signup, no email address, nothing stored. Enter your numbers and read the result.

Where do the lifespan figures come from?

Consumer Reports member surveys, Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers data, and manufacturer service-life figures. Where sources disagree, the calculator uses the typical range rather than the most optimistic number.

Why does the calculator ask for the repair quote rather than the part price?

Because the call-out and diagnostic fee is typically $65–$165, and it sits on top of every repair. A $60 part becomes a $250 decision once that fee is included — and that’s the number that decides close calls.

What if I’m doing the repair myself?

Enter the part cost as your repair quote. The 50% test then runs against what you’d actually spend. The Lifespan Rule still applies — a cheap repair on a machine at the end of its life is still a bet.

Why did it say “bin” when the repair seems cheap?

Two likely reasons. The machine may be past its expected lifespan, which means the repair is buying very little. Or a previous repair may have triggered the Reliability Rule. The result shows which rule decided it.

Why did it say “repair” on an old machine?

Because the repair was cheap enough to be a bet rather than an investment. A $40 part on a twelve-year-old dishwasher often passes all five rules — the risk is small enough that it’s worth taking.

Can I use this for a car, a phone, or something not on the list?

The rules apply to any repairable object. Pick the closest category for the lifespan estimate, or use the framework itself and apply the rules manually.

Does the calculator work outside the US?

Yes. Enter figures in your own currency — the calculator works on ratios between repair cost and replacement cost, not absolute amounts.

The framework in full

The calculator is a fast version of a longer argument. If you want the reasoning behind each rule — where the 50% threshold comes from, how lifespan ranges are produced, why the safety rule overrides the rest, and the worked examples that show where the rules give counterintuitive answers — the full framework is here:

Should I Repair or Replace It? The Complete Decision Framework →

And if you already know what’s wrong and want the fault-level diagnosis before deciding, every guide on the site ends with a repair-or-bin verdict specific to that fault:

Browse all repair guides →