🔧 Repair or Replace
Should I repair it or replace it?
The rule everyone uses is “don’t repair if it costs more than half a new one”. It ignores how long each option lasts, which is the thing that actually decides it — and it happens to be the rule that sells the most appliances.
Figures reviewed September 2026. Free, no signup, nothing stored on our servers.
What this means
The comparison is cost per remaining year of service. A €180 repair buying three more years costs €60 a year. A €650 replacement lasting ten costs €65. On that basis the repair wins, which is the opposite of what the half-price rule says.
Where the numbers are close, they are not deciding anything. A difference under about 15% is inside the error of your own estimate of how long each option lasts, so the points underneath — reliability, warranty, the disruption of a breakdown — are what should decide it.
Two things routinely tip an apparently close call towards replacing: a pattern of repeated breakdowns, which means the next repair is likely and is not in these figures, and a meaningful warranty, which moves the risk of the next fault to somebody else.
What affects the result
- How many years the repair genuinely buys. Ask the repairer — they will usually tell you honestly.
- How many breakdowns there have been recently. Two or more is a pattern, not bad luck.
- Whether the replacement is genuinely more efficient. Compare the energy labels rather than assuming.
- Whether parts are still available. Past about twelve years this often decides the question for you.
- What the old one is worth. Zero for most appliances, but not for cars, tools or anything with a resale market.
- Whether it is still under guarantee or within statutory rights, in which case the repair may cost nothing.
Should I repair it or replace it?
Check your rights before you pay
If the item is under about two years old, the repair may not be yours to pay for. The consumer rights checker walks through what the Consumer Rights Act 2022 gives you, and within the first twelve months the burden is on the trader to show the fault was not there at delivery.
If it is a car
Compare the repair with the car’s value and with a year of payments on a replacement, not just with the value. A €1,200 repair on a car worth €3,000 sounds absurd until you price the alternative — the true cost calculator and the valuation tool together give the honest comparison.
If it is a boiler
Past about twelve years, parts availability tends to decide it. Before committing to a replacement boiler, check whether a heat pump is viable and what the rest of the house needs first — a new boiler installed into an uninsulated house is a decision you live with for fifteen years.
Important assumptions
Every figure on this page rests on these. Where one does not match your situation, the answer moves — sometimes a great deal.
- Cost per year is the repair or replacement cost divided by the years of service it provides.
- The replacement figure is reduced by any energy savings and by what the old item sells for.
- Typical service lives shown for each category are general guidance, not measured figures for a specific model.
- No allowance for the time and inconvenience of either option, or for the cost of a further repair after the first.
- The environmental case for repairing is noted but not quantified.
Official sources
Where this tool applies a published rule, this is where the rule comes from. Check the source before acting on anything that matters.
- CCPC — faulty goods and your rights
When a repair should be free under Irish consumer law rather than something you pay for.
- SEAI — energy labels and appliance running costs
How to read an EU energy label and what a difference in rating is actually worth per year.
- Repair Your Stuff — Ireland
The national waste awareness service's directory of repair options and repair cafés around the country.
Common questions
Is it worth repairing a washing machine?
It depends on the age and the fault. Pumps, seals, elements and door locks are usually cheap and worth doing at almost any age. Drum bearings on a machine past about eight years usually are not. Enter the quoted price and the years the repairer says it will buy, and the arithmetic answers it.
What is the 50% rule?
The common advice that a repair costing more than half the price of a replacement is not worth doing. It is a crude proxy that ignores how long each option lasts. A repair at 40% of replacement cost buying one more year is worse value than one at 60% buying five.
Should the repair be free?
Possibly. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 goods must be of satisfactory quality and durable, and a fault appearing within twelve months of delivery is presumed to have existed at delivery. An expired manufacturer guarantee does not end your statutory rights against the retailer. Check before paying for a repair on anything relatively new.
Does a more efficient replacement pay for itself?
Rarely on energy alone for a small appliance, and sometimes for a boiler or a fridge that runs continuously. The tool shows how many years the energy saving alone would take to fund the replacement — if that number is longer than the appliance will last, efficiency is not the reason to replace it.
What to check next
What are my rights on this purchase?
Answer six questions about what you bought and see the Irish rights that may apply.
Consumer Rights CheckerNewIs this big purchase worth it?
Cost per use and per year for anything expensive, against the alternative of not owning it.
Is This Worth It?NewWhat is my car actually costing me?
Depreciation, fuel, insurance, tax, servicing and tyres as one annual figure and a cost per kilometre.
Car True Cost CalculatorNewIs this quote reasonable?
Break a trade quote into labour, materials and VAT and compare it to benchmark ranges.
Quote CheckerNext steps across CheckIreland
Picked for what you just worked out — not a list of everything we make.
- The repair may not be yours to pay forWithin twelve months, the trader has to show the fault was not there at delivery.
- If you are replacing itCost per use is the test for whether the replacement is worth what it costs.
- Check the repair quoteWritten, itemised, VAT stated — the same checks that apply to any trade quote.
CheckIreland is independent and is not affiliated with the Irish Government or any public body. This tool is general information built on published rules and typical costs — it is not financial, tax or legal advice, and it does not account for your individual circumstances. Confirm anything that matters with the relevant body or a qualified adviser before acting on it.