Should You Repair or Replace Your Appliance?

01

Start with an accurate diagnosis

You can’t compare repair and replacement without knowing what’s actually wrong. Many common faults, such as a drain pump, fan motor, heating element or door switch, come down to one part. A proper diagnosis gives you a firm price to weigh against a new unit.

For example, a dryer that runs but won’t heat is usually one part. So is a washer that won’t drain or spin.

Guessing gets expensive both ways. An error code can point to a part that isn’t the cause.

One of our customers, Will G., had a two-year-old Electrolux washer that stopped mid-drain with error codes, and another technician had decided the drain pump needed replacing. In his words:

“Joe came out, tested the pump, got the washer to drain and found that the pump was actually working. He spent more time testing the machine and eventually determined that the main control board was the problem.”

Replacing the wrong part, or the whole washer, would have cost more and fixed nothing.

02

How old is it?

Age matters because it tells you how much life the appliance has left after the repair. The most widely cited figures come from a U.S. National Association of Home Builders study of average first-owner lifespans:

These are averages, not expiry dates. A well-kept fridge can run well past 13 years, and a heavily used washer in a large household may wear out sooner.

Use them as a rough guide: a single-part repair on an appliance in the first half of its life is almost always worth it, and the decision gets closer as it nears the end.

03

When repair usually makes sense

• It’s been reliable, and the fault is one part. A drain pump, element, igniter, fan motor or door switch is a routine repair.
• It’s built in or panel-ready. Integrated fridges, dishwashers and wall ovens are sized to your cabinetry. A new one may not fit the same opening, and custom panels may need to be remade.
• Replacing it means more than swapping a box. Built-in models, gas connections, hard-wired wall ovens and over-the-range microwaves all add installation work and cost to a replacement.
• It’s a premium model. On a higher-end appliance a repair is a small fraction of replacement cost, so repairing usually stays worth it for longer.
• You’d rather keep it out of the landfill. Repair is the lower-waste choice, and it usually means less time without the appliance than shopping, delivery and installation.

04

When replacement may be better

• It keeps breaking. If this is the third repair in a short time, the next fault is likely close behind.
• The repair is a major component and the price approaches a comparable new unit. Consumer Reports’ long-standing guideline is not to spend more than about 50% of the cost of a new appliance on repairing an old one. Their newer advice adds age and how much you paid. It’s a useful rule, but compare against the price of a comparable new unit, not the cheapest one on sale.
• It’s an older fridge or freezer and energy matters to you. Natural Resources Canada says an old refrigerator uses about 35% more energy on average than an ENERGY STAR rated model. They recommend recycling the old one rather than moving it to the garage as a second fridge.
• You want features or capacity the current unit doesn’t offer.

05

What the big repairs cost

Most single-part repairs on our service pages fall in the low hundreds of dollars. The repairs that usually prompt a repair-or-replace conversation are the larger ones. These are the typical ranges from our service pages, in CAD before HST:

For a full breakdown, see Fridge Repair Cost and Oven Repair Cost: Repair or Replace?.

06

Ask for the numbers

A good technician will tell you the repair price before starting and give you an honest view of whether the repair is worth it. You should never feel pressured to proceed. Before you decide, ask:

1. What exactly failed, and how did you confirm it?
2. What’s the total price for parts and labour?
3. Is anything else on this appliance showing wear?
4. What warranty comes with the repair?
5. Honestly, would you repair this one?

Sometimes the honest answer is repair, even when the homeowner expected to replace.

Monera S. called us about her dishwasher expecting to buy a new one. In her words, our technician “saved me from buying new dishwasher and save me $$$$ by fixing my Dishwasher quickly.”

07

If you decide to replace

• Measure the opening, including height, width and depth, and check the door swing. Built-in and counter-depth models vary more than you’d expect.
• Check the connections, such as gas or standard power, the outlet type and the water and drain lines, so the new unit suits what’s already there.
• Plan for the old one. When we install, we can haul the old appliance away where available. Otherwise, the City of Vaughan collects large appliances by appointment for a fee, a working appliance can be donated, and York Region’s Community Environmental Centres also accept appliances. Fridges and freezers contain refrigerant, so let the recycler or collector handle them rather than taking one apart.
• Installation: we install the same appliances we repair: refrigerators, ranges, wall ovens and cooktops, dishwashers, washers and dryers, over-the-range and built-in microwaves, range hoods, and steam units and sauna heaters. It’s from $129 per appliance.

08

When to call a technician

Whichever way you decide, we can help: we repair and install refrigerators, ovens and stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers, over-the-range and built-in microwaves, range hoods, and steam and sauna equipment across Vaughan. If you replace, we can install the new one.

Book a diagnostic and you’ll have the facts to decide: what failed, the exact price, and our honest recommendation. Diagnostic regularly $129, now $99, and always waived when Aria does the repair. Every completed repair comes with a 1-Year Parts & Labour Warranty.