Gloved hands reaching into the opened rear panel of an appliance, a row of screwdrivers laid out on a folded towel, a green work light overhead.

Repair or Replace

The arithmetic that decides, written down before you are emotionally invested in a machine you have already half disassembled.

Module 7 of 74 lessonsWritten in full1 worksheet

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The lessons

All 4, in the order they are read.

1. The fifty-percent rule, and why it is usually wrong
The rule of thumb ignores remaining service life, which is the variable that actually decides.
2. Parts availability as a signal
When a control board is on back-order everywhere, the market is telling you the machine's service life is over.
3. The jobs worth paying for
Some repairs are cheap in parts and expensive in consequences, and a professional's insurance is part of what you buy.
4. Keeping the record
A machine with a written service history is worth more, fails less, and is far faster to diagnose the second time.

The worksheet

Repair-or-replace calculator

Fill both columns before you order a part. The decision line at the bottom is the whole point: it is computed, and you write it down while you are still able to be objective about a machine you have not yet taken apart.

Repair-or-replace calculator
Line	Repair	Replace
Parts cost	—	Purchase price
Labour: your hours x what your time is worth, or the quote	—	Delivery and installation
Disposal or trade-in	—	—
Total cost	—	—
Expected remaining service life, years	—	Typical service life for the class of machine
Cost per remaining year	= total / years	= total / years

3 further rows in the downloadable sheet.

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