Repair or replace? How to work it out

Do the arithmetic instead of guessing. If the repair costs less than a third of an equivalent used machine and the machine has more than a couple of years left in it, repairing is usually cheapest. If it does not, you are buying time rather than a solution.

Written by Alireza Makvandi · Co-founder & Technical Director

Updated 2026-08-234 min read

Most machines get replaced long before they are worn out. The question is not whether a computer can be repaired — almost all of them can — but whether it is worth it. Here is how we work it out when someone asks.

Start with what the machine is worth

Look up what the same model costs used today. That figure is your ceiling. As a rule of thumb: if the repair costs more than half of what the machine is worth, think twice. If it costs more than the machine is worth, the answer is no.

The cheap faults

Four things are behind the large majority of enquiries, and all four are cheap to fix compared with a new machine:

The battery no longer lasts a working day. A battery is a wear part — it gets replaced after a few years, like tyres on a car.
Too little memory. A machine with 4 GB feels dead today; at 8 or 16 GB it feels like a different computer.
An old hard disk instead of an SSD. That single part makes the biggest difference to how the machine feels day to day.
Dust and old thermal paste. The machine runs hot, the fan gets loud, and performance is throttled automatically.

The expensive faults

Motherboards, hinges that have torn the chassis apart, and liquid damage sit at the other end. On an older machine they almost always exceed its value. Screens sit in between: the price varies a lot by model, so get it quoted before you decide.

Count the time too

A new machine has to be set up, software installed and files moved. For a company that is often half a working day per employee. That time costs money too, and the cost disappears if the old machine simply keeps running.

If you would rather have it done

If you are unsure, write to us with the model and what happens. We will say honestly if it is not worth it — it is cheaper for us to say no than to do a repair you regret.

Write to us

Sources

Where to go next

Questions we get about this

When is a computer not worth repairing?

Look up what the same model costs used today — that figure is the ceiling. If the repair costs more than half of it, think twice. If it costs more than the machine is worth, the answer is no.

Why does my old computer feel slow?

Four things are behind the large majority of enquiries: a battery that no longer lasts a working day, too little memory, an old hard disk instead of an SSD, and dust and old thermal paste making the machine throttle itself. All four are cheap to fix compared with a new machine.

Which repairs are the expensive ones?

Motherboards, hinges that have torn the chassis apart, and liquid damage. On an older machine they almost always exceed what the machine is worth. Screens sit in between — the price varies a lot by model, so get it quoted before you decide.

Should the setup time be counted?

Yes. A new machine has to be set up, software installed and files moved. For a company that is often half a working day per employee, and the cost disappears if the old machine simply keeps running.