Your appliance broke. Should you fix it or replace it?
FixOrBuy turns the repair quote in your hand into a decision: the 50% rule, cost-per-remaining-year math, and sourced lifespan data — with honest confidence wording, because a rule of thumb is a rule of thumb, not gospel.
Per-appliance decision guides
Common failures, repair-cost realities and the decision logic for the seven machines homeowners break most.
Washing machine: repair or replace?
Typical repairs $180–$250 (Angi 2026); why a $300 quote on a 9-year-old washer is a judgment call, not a yes.
Guide · 13-yr lifespanRefrigerator: compressor math + energy wildcard
Sealed-system failures usually end in replacement; old fridges can cost ~$95/yr more to run.
Guide · 9-yr lifespanDishwasher: cheapest repairs, shortest life
Most repairs near $225 vs $500–$1,300 installed new — where the 50% line actually sits.
Guide · 13–15-yr lifespanOven & stove: long lives, one hard line
Elements and igniters are cheap; control boards aren't; gas work is licensed-tech territory, always.
Guide · 13-yr lifespanDryer: no-heat is usually the cheap fix
Thermal fuses, belts and vents — plus the lint-duct safety check to run before anyone quotes.
Guide · 9-yr lifespanMicrowave: the appliance where replace wins
Why repair rarely pays, except built-ins — and the capacitor rule that makes DIY a hard no.
Guide · 10–11-yr lifespanWater heater: leaks end the debate
A leaking tank is an immediate replace; element and thermocouple faults are often clean repairs.
ToolThe repair-or-replace calculator
Enter quote, age and replacement price: get the 50% verdict, per-year costs and a framed recommendation.
PillarHow long appliances actually last
The NAHB-sourced lifespan table with industry ranges — the reference every guide here draws on.
Decision articles
The frameworks, the money math and the safety lines behind every verdict.
The 50% rule, explained — and its limits
Where the rule comes from (verified sources, honest provenance) and the five things it can't see.
Data literacyReading lifespan expectations honestly
What the NAHB study measured, why industry ranges disagree, and where your machine sits within them.
MoneyExtended warranties: the honest math
The FTC's checklist plus the expected-value arithmetic the register hopes you skip.
SafetyWhen DIY repair makes sense — and where to stop
Gas means licensed technician. Microwave capacitors kill. The safe list and the hard lines.
BuyingThe second-hand appliance checklist
Date codes, run-tests, recall checks and pricing a used machine against its remaining years.
EnergyEnergy payback: method, not slogans
Old fridge vs new efficient one, computed honestly — verified ENERGY STAR figures included.
HiringFinding a good repair tech
The FTC vetting method, the five questions that surface honest quotes, and the red flags.
Start here
Three pages cover 80% of readers.
Home warranty & appliance protection plans (concept explainer)
When breakdowns repeat, some homeowners cap repair costs with a service plan. We explain how the math works — we don't review or rank providers, and we don't publish invented reviews.
Compare plan types →Last verified: 2026-11-16 — figures on this page summarize the sourced guides: NAHB/BofA life-expectancy study (Feb 2007), Angi repair-cost guides (2026), ENERGY STAR refrigerators. All outbound links are nofollow.