Repair vs replace: a complete Ottawa appliance guide

Your fridge stops cooling at 11 p.m. Your washer starts grinding mid-cycle. Your oven takes 45 minutes to preheat. In that moment, every Ottawa homeowner faces the same question: should I repair this appliance, or is it finally time to replace it?

It isn’t a simple answer. Replacing feels clean and decisive, but a new fridge can cost $1,200–$3,000+, a dryer $700–$1,500 and a washer $800–$2,000. Meanwhile, most repairs cost $150–$400 all in. The math often strongly favours repair, but not always, so here is a framework you can actually use.

The most widely used rule in appliance repair is straightforward: if the repair costs more than 50% of the price of a new appliance, replacing is likely the smarter financial choice. To apply it, get a diagnosis first, not a guess. You need to know exactly what is wrong and what it will cost to fix; a technician who won’t give you a clear quote before starting work isn’t someone you should hire (see our Ottawa hiring checklist).

Then compare the quote with current prices for a comparable model. If the repair is $200 and a comparable new unit costs $900, repair it. If the repair is $550 and the unit costs $800 new, think much harder about replacing.

Age changes the math significantly. A $300 repair on a 2-year-old fridge is almost always worth it. The same $300 on a 14-year-old fridge is a harder call, even when the cost ratio looks fine, because all the components are ageing together: fix one thing today and something else may break in six months.

Typical lifespans for common home appliances in Canada:

• Refrigerator: 13–17 years
• Front-load washer: 10–14 years
• Top-load washer: 11–15 years
• Dryer: 12–16 years
• Dishwasher: 9–12 years
• Stove or range: 13–18 years
• Built-in oven: 14–18 years
• Over-the-range microwave: 9–13 years
• Range hood: 14–20 years

If the appliance is within the first 60% of its expected lifespan and the repair is under 50% of replacement cost, repair almost always makes sense. Past 80% of the expected lifespan, the balance shifts toward replacement unless the repair is minor and inexpensive. For more detail, see how long appliances last.

Refrigerator

Repair if it is under 10 years old, the compressor is not the problem and the repair is under $400. Common fixable faults include thermostats, door gaskets, evaporator fans, ice makers and defrost systems, usually $150–$350, and they give you many more years of service.

Think hard about replacing if the compressor has failed. The compressor is the heart of the refrigerator, and on a fridge past 10 years the whole sealed system is aged, so one failure often means more are coming. Compressor and refrigerant work has its own sealed-system diagnostic ($159 + tax) and the repair is quoted by phone, so you can weigh it against a new fridge before deciding.

Ottawa note: with −30 °C winters and humid summers, garage fridges here run harder than in milder climates. They tend to age faster and may need replacing sooner than indoor units. More in repair or replace your fridge.

Washing machine

Repair if a front-loader is under 8 years old. Front-load washers are generally worth repairing because they use far less water and energy than top-loaders. Common repairs (door boot seals, bearings, drain pumps, control boards) mostly run $150–$350.

Replace if the drum bearing has failed on a front-loader that is 9 years or older. A bearing job means pulling the whole tub, the cost can approach $400–$600, and at that age the drum seals and spider arm are ageing too, so replacement is often cleaner. Top-load agitator washers are generally cheaper to repair because they have fewer electronic parts: a control board on a top-loader under 6 years old is usually worth fixing, while after 10 years a top-loader needing a major mechanical repair is often better replaced. See repair or replace your washer.

Dryer

Repair almost always makes sense. Dryers are among the most repair-friendly appliances in the home, and most failures (heating elements, thermostats, drum belts, idler pulleys) cost $120–$280 to fix. Even on a 12-year-old dryer, a $200 repair often makes sense if the drum and motor are sound.

The exception is a failed motor on a dryer older than 12 years, or a drum that has cracked or rusted badly; then replacement is likely cleaner than a $350+ motor job on an ageing unit. And a dryer that needs 2–3 cycles per load often has a venting problem rather than a broken dryer: a blocked or kinked vent makes it overheat and cut out, so have the vent checked before assuming the worst. See repair or replace your dryer.

Dishwasher

Repair if it is under 7 years old and the fault is a pump, spray arm, door latch, control board or float switch, all well within the repair-worthy range at $120–$300.

Replace if the tub has cracked or rusted through, or the unit is over 10 years old with a major leak. Tub replacement is rarely economical, because the tub is the dishwasher’s structure. Dishwashers have the shortest typical lifespan of the common appliances (9–12 years), so age matters more: a 10-year-old dishwasher with a $300+ quote is often better replaced.

Stove and oven

Repair almost always makes sense. Stoves and ovens last 13–18 years, and most common faults (igniters, bake elements, control boards, temperature sensors) cost $120–$350 to fix. Gas stoves have a slight edge, with an inexpensive igniter and fewer electronics; electric ranges are just as repairable, with most element replacements straightforward $100–$200 jobs. The exception is a crack running through a glass cooktop: the glass can’t be repaired, and a replacement panel often costs nearly as much as a new stove. See repair or replace your oven or range.

Before deciding to replace, count the full cost of replacement, not just the sticker price:

• Delivery and installation: $75–$200 in Ottawa, more for a complex installation such as a built-in fridge, an over-the-range microwave or a gas stove.
• Haul-away of the old unit: $50–$100 if it isn’t included.
• Electrical or plumbing changes: if the new appliance needs a different outlet or water-line setup, add $100–$400.
• Wait time: in-stock appliances often arrive within days, but specific models can take 2–8 weeks. Can you manage without the appliance that long?
• Early reliability issues: new appliances occasionally have manufacturing defects. Most come with a 1-year manufacturer warranty, but dealing with warranty service on a brand-new unit has its own frustrations.

A repair that solves the problem this week and gives you 3–5 more years of reliable service often beats the whole replacement process, even when the numbers look close. If you do replace, we also offer appliance installation in Ottawa.

The energy-efficiency argument is real, but only sometimes. A 15-year-old top-load washer uses roughly 150–190 litres (40–50 US gallons) of water per load; a modern high-efficiency front-loader uses about 55–75 litres (15–20 gallons). At 5–7 loads a week, the water and electricity savings can reach $15–$25 a month, which adds up over 5–10 years.

Modern Energy Star refrigerators use considerably less electricity than units made before 2010. At current Ontario electricity rates, that can mean $50–$80 a year, or $500–$800 over 10 years, a real number worth factoring into the decision. Dryers, stoves and dishwashers, however, have not improved dramatically in efficiency over the past decade, so for them the efficiency case for replacement is weaker and repair is usually the smarter near-term choice.

There is an environmental angle too. Manufacturing a new appliance carries a significant carbon footprint, from mining metals to fabricating parts and shipping them across supply chains. Repairing an appliance that still has useful life extends the value of the materials and energy already spent making it. That doesn’t always change the financial math, but a dryer that gets five more years from a $170 heating element is both the financially and the environmentally smarter choice.

A common mistake is deciding to repair or replace before a proper diagnosis. Someone hears a grinding noise from the washer, searches “drum bearing replacement cost,” reads $400–$600 and orders a new washer, when the real cause was a loose item trapped in the pump, a $120 fix. Equally common: a fridge stops cooling, the owner assumes the compressor has failed and replaces it, when a technician would have found a failed evaporator fan motor, a $180 repair.

The right order is always diagnose first, then decide. A proper service call gives you the actual repair cost, not a worst-case estimate. At B&M Canada Appliances the residential diagnostic is $89 + tax and is applied toward the approved repair if you go ahead (gas appliances are $129 + tax), and every repair is quoted in writing before any work begins.

We are a repair company, so you might expect us always to recommend repair. We would rather tell you that replacement is the right call than charge $400 to fix a 14-year-old unit that will break again in six months. We diagnose, give you the real cost and tell you what we would do in your position; if it is close, we walk you through the math. Most of the time, for appliances under 10 years old with a clear, fixable fault, repair is the right answer: faster, cheaper, and it often gets the household running again sooner than waiting for a new unit to arrive.

A quick reference for the moment an appliance breaks down:

Ready for a real number? Book a diagnosis with our Ottawa appliance repair team, or see what appliance repair costs in Ottawa first.