Repair or Replace Databases

Appliance Lifespan and Repair Cost Database

Expected life by brand. Repair cost by fault.

Category averages tell you how long a dishwasher lasts. They don’t tell you how long your dishwasher lasts. A twelve-year-old Miele and a twelve-year-old Frigidaire are the same age and completely different decisions — one has years left, the other is past its expected life.

These two databases replace the averages with the numbers you actually need. Use them to work out what percentage of your machine’s life has been used, and what the fault you’re facing actually costs — then apply the five rules.

Both are in US dollars, both are ranges, and both should be read with the note on sources at the end.

The decision repair, by category

In almost every category, there’s exactly one repair that costs more than half a new unit — and everything else is cheap. Find your category below, and you’ll usually know the answer before you’ve read anything else.

That table is the short version of everything below. The rest of this page gives you the detail — lifespan by brand, and costs by fault.

How to read the lifespan database

Every figure is a range, and the range is the point.

A dishwasher doesn’t last ten years. Dishwashers last somewhere between eight and fourteen, depending on the brand, the water, how often it runs, and the luck. The brand table tells you which end of that range you’re likely to be at; the notes tell you what pushes it either way.

The columns

• Conservative — the age at which the machine is genuinely near the end. Plan for replacement from here.
• Typical — the median. Most machines of this type and brand reach this age.
• Optimistic — the age a well-maintained unit can reach. Not the planning figure, but not fantasy either.

How to use it

Work out your machine’s age as a percentage of the typical figure. That percentage is what the Lifespan Rule uses.

• Under 50% — repair freely.
• 50–75% — repair carefully.
• Above 75% — the repair needs a reason.
• Past 100% — you’re in bonus time.

The Lifespan Database

Dishwashers

Most dishwashers last 9–13 years. Brand matters more here than the category average suggests — a Miele will typically outlast a Frigidaire by five years or more.

What moves the number up or down

Soft water, once-a-day use, a clean filter, and a descaled element push you to the optimistic end. Hard water run twice a day with no maintenance will land you at the conservative figure regardless of brand.

Brand notes

The board failures on LG and Samsung models are the reason their typical figure is three years below Bosch’s. If you own one past year eight, expect the control board question to arrive earlier than it would on a European machine.

Refrigerators

Most refrigerators last 10–18 years. The sealed system is the limit, and the brand determines when it fails.

What moves the number up or down

Clearance for airflow behind and around the unit, coils cleaned annually, and a stable ambient temperature push you towards the optimistic end. A fridge jammed into a tight cabinet with no airflow will fail earlier regardless of brand.

Brand notes

If you own an LG or Samsung unit and the compressor has failed, check whether it falls under the class action settlement or an extended warranty before pricing a replacement. It changes the maths entirely.

Washing machines

Most washing machines last 10–13 years. Top-loaders outlast front-loaders, and drum bearings are what ends a front-loader’s life.

What moves the number up or down

A level floor, an unloaded drum between cycles, and a clean filter push you up. Front-loaders need the door left ajar after use and the seal cleaned regularly — a neglected seal lets water into the drum bearing, which is the expensive failure.

Dryers

Most dryers last 10–15 years. Simple machines with cheap parts — the vent is what kills them.

What moves the number up or down

A short, rigid vent run with a clean exterior hood. The single biggest killer of dryers is a blocked vent — it overheats the thermal fuse, then the element, then the machine.

Ovens and ranges

Most ovens last 13–18 years. The chassis outlasts the components, which is why they’re worth repairing past ten years.

What moves the number up or down

Gas ovens generally outlast electric because the chassis doesn’t carry the element heat cycle. The components that fail — igniters, elements, thermostats — are all cheap, which is why ovens are worth repairing well past ten years.

Microwaves

Most microwaves last 7–10 years. The magnetron is the limit, and it’s rarely economic to replace.

What moves the number up or down

The magnetron, and it’s usually what ends the machine’s life. The high-voltage circuit isn’t DIY-safe, so a magnetron failure is a professional repair — which on a countertop unit is almost never economic.

Televisions

Most TVs last 7–12 years. The panel is the limit — everything upstream of it is repairable.

What moves the number up or down

The panel. Everything upstream of it — boards, backlight strips, power supplies — is repairable at $30–$200. The panel itself costs as much as a new set, which is why the fault type decides the outcome before cost is even considered.

Brand notes

OLED brightness decline is gradual and normal, but panel uniformity faults are the terminal ones. Check the warranty before assuming a fault is unrepairable — LG’s OLED panel coverage has historically extended beyond the standard TV warranty in some regions.

Laptops and computers

Most laptops last 4–7 years. The battery and hinge decide it, not the CPU.

What moves the number up or down

The battery first, then the hinge, then OS support. A laptop with a swollen battery, a broken hinge, and an unsupported OS is three separate failures. The motherboard is the repair that decides the outcome — same role as the dishwasher control board.

Phones and tablets

Most phones last 3–5 years. OS support, not hardware, is usually what ends their useful life.

What moves the number up or down

OS support more than hardware. A phone that no longer receives security updates is a phone that shouldn’t be used for banking, however well the battery performs. The lifespan figures already reflect this.

Home systems

Home systems vary widely. Water heaters are limited by tank corrosion; AC by the compressor; solar by the inverter.

What moves the number up or down

For water heaters, tank corrosion — a leaking tank is terminal and there’s no repair. For AC and heat pumps, the compressor. For solar, the inverter is the scheduled replacement, not an unexpected failure.

Tools and outdoor equipment

Most tools last 5–10 years. The battery platform is usually what decides it.

What moves the number up or down

The battery platform. A cordless tool with a dead battery isn’t a repair decision — it’s a battery purchase, and whether it’s worth it depends on how many other tools you own on that platform.

How to read the repair cost database

The repair cost database is fault-level, not category-level. That’s the difference between “a dishwasher repair costs $200” and “a dishwasher drain pump costs $280 installed, which is 31% of a $900 replacement, which passes the cost test.”

The columns

• DIY part — the cost of the part alone, if you can do the work yourself
• Installed — the cost with a professional doing the work, including the call-out and labour
• 50% test — whether the installed cost passes the 50% Rule against a typical replacement

The decision repair

Every table names the decision repair — the one fault in that category that usually exceeds the 50% line. Identify whether you’re facing it and the decision is usually made for you.

If you’re not facing the decision repair, you’re almost certainly looking at a repair.

The Repair Cost Database

Dishwashers

Typical replacement: $400–$1,500 · The decision repair: the control board

The decision repair

The control board. At $180–$585 against a $900 replacement, that’s 20–65%. On a budget machine it fails decisively; on a premium machine under five years old it can be worth doing. Everything else passes comfortably.

Refrigerators

Typical replacement: $700–$2,500 · The decision repair: the sealed system

The decision repair

The sealed system. At $400–$1,000 against a $1,100 replacement, that’s 36–91%, and the labour risk makes it worse. This is the fault that ends a fridge’s life. Everything else passes.

Washing machines

Typical replacement: $500–$1,500 · The decision repair: drum bearings

The decision repair

Drum bearings. The part is cheap but the labour dominates — the drum has to come out, and on many front-loaders the bearings are pressed into a sealed tub. At $300–$600 against $900, that’s 33–67%. Under six years old on a premium machine it’s worth doing; past eight years it usually isn’t.

Dryers

Typical replacement: $400–$1,200 · The decision repair: the motor, or the sealed system on a heat pump

The decision repair

The motor on a vented dryer, the sealed system on a heat pump. On a basic vented dryer worth $500, a $350 motor repair at year ten is a bin. Heat pump dryers are the exception to the whole category — a sealed system failure out of warranty is usually the end.

Ovens and ranges

Typical replacement: $500–$2,000 · The decision repair: the control board

The decision repair

The control board, same as the dishwasher. Everything else passes comfortably — which is why ovens are worth repairing well past ten years.

Televisions

Typical replacement: $300–$2,000 · The decision repair: the panel

The decision repair

The panel. It always costs nearly as much as a new set, which is why the fault type alone decides it. Everything upstream of the panel passes the 50% test on almost any TV.

Laptops

Typical replacement: $400–$2,000 · The decision repair: the motherboard

The decision repair

The motherboard — and on a laptop past five years it usually fails, because the lifespan rule rejects it independently. The battery and screen are the two repairs that most often justify themselves.

Air conditioners and heat pumps

Typical replacement: $1,500–$5,000 · The decision repair: the compressor, or the refrigerant type

The decision repair

The compressor, and the refrigerant type. An R22 system with a leak is a replacement regardless of cost, because the refrigerant is phased out and the repair cost will keep rising.

Water heaters

Typical replacement: $800–$2,500 · The decision repair: a leaking tank

The decision repair

A leaking tank. There is no repair — the tank is the water heater. Everything else passes comfortably.

Using the databases together

The two tables do different jobs, and the framework needs both.

Example 1: Nine-year-old Bosch, failed drain pump

• Lifespan: Bosch typical is 12 years. Nine years used is 75% — at the threshold where the repair needs a reason.
• Repair cost: drain pump at $150–$450 installed against a $900 replacement is 17–50%.
• The decision: the cost test passes. The lifespan test says the repair needs a reason. The reason is that the repair is cheap — $280 is a bet, not an investment, and the machine has three years of typical life left. Repair.

Example 2: Same machine, failed control board

• Lifespan: 75% used.
• Repair cost: $180–$585 installed against $900 is 20–65%.
• The decision: at the upper end of the repair range, both tests fail. At the lower end, the cost passes but the lifespan test still needs a reason — and a $400 board on a machine at 75% of life isn’t a cheap bet. Lean bin.

Example 3: Five-year-old Miele, same board fault

• Lifespan: Miele typical is 17 years. Five years used is 29%.
• Repair cost: the same $180–$585, but against a Miele replacement at $1,800–$2,500 that’s 7–33%.
• The decision: both tests pass comfortably. Repair, without hesitation.

Same fault, three different machines, three different answers. That’s what the databases are for.

A note on sources

Lifespan figures draw on Consumer Reports member surveys, Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers data, manufacturer service-life publications, and repair-industry parts data. Where sources disagree, the tables give the range rather than picking one.

Repair costs draw on HomeAdvisor, Fixr, Angi, and published service pricing from national repair networks. They’re US figures and they vary by region — a $200 repair in one market is a $350 repair in another for the same fault.

These are estimates, not quotes. The purpose of the databases is to tell you whether a quote you’ve been given is in the normal range, and to give you the number to run through the framework. They’re not a substitute for getting the actual quote.

The figures will date. Repair costs rise, and lifespan figures shift as manufacturing changes. The framework doesn’t — the five rules will apply to whatever the numbers are in ten years’ time. The databases are the inputs; the rules are the durable part.

Apply the numbers

You now have the two inputs the framework needs. The next step is to put them through the five rules:

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

Or, if you’d rather not work through it manually:

The Repair or Bin Framework Calculator — apply all five rules in thirty seconds →

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

Browse all repair guides →