Repair or replace? How to decide, with the numbers checked

There is no single break-even point for every product, but there are a few checks that settle most cases. This guide sets out the figures that have a source, and labels the ones that are only rules of thumb. It is general information as of 12 October 2026, not legal or financial advice: schemes and rules change, so check the ones where you live.

The thresholds people use

• 20–30% of the original price. French agency ADEME found that people generally repair only if the total cost stays within 20–30% of what they paid, as reported by the European consumer organisation BEUC [1].
• The 50% rule. A long-standing rule of thumb says to replace a product when a repair costs more than half the price of a new one [2]. It is a rule of thumb, not a statistic.
• Spare parts can be expensive. BEUC's June 2026 market check found an official vacuum-cleaner battery at €281, 56% of the appliance's original price, and flagship phone screens at over €400, about 30% of the retail price before labour [1].

Why repairs fail

In data on about 208,000 repair attempts at community repair events, summarised by U.S. PIRG, no spare part was available for 25% of the products that could not be fixed, and parts were too expensive for a further 18% [3]. Those are exactly the cases where a remade part can change the answer.

Steps

1. Check the guarantee first. In the EU, from 31 July 2026, if you choose repair rather than replacement under the legal guarantee, the guarantee period is extended once by 12 months [4]. It does not cover contracts concluded before that date, and it reaches you through your country's national law: Euronews reported that only a handful of member states met the deadline [1].
2. Price the official part. Use the model number to find the manufacturer's part and its delivery time, and add labour and postage.
3. Compare with a new product. Work out the repair as a share of the price of a comparable new model. Within 20–30%, most people repair; above 50%, the rule of thumb says replace.
4. Check for a repair bonus. France pays a bonus réparation of €15 to €60 depending on the device, deducted on the invoice by a labelled repairer [5]. Austria's new bonus, from 12 January 2026, pays 50% of the repair cost up to €130 per device, plus up to €30 towards a quote [6]. Germany has no federal scheme; some states and cities run their own, such as Saxony (50% up to €200) and Bielefeld (50% up to €150) [7].
5. Look at the rest of the product. If the motor, screen or board is fine and only a small part is broken, repair usually makes sense. If several parts are worn, the next fault may follow soon.
6. Ask about remaking the part. When the part is discontinued, sold only inside a large assembly, or priced out of proportion, a maker can often remake a small plastic or metal piece. Check first that it is not a part that should never be remade.

The bigger picture

The European Commission estimates that EU consumers lose about €12 billion a year by replacing goods instead of repairing them, as cited by the European Parliament [8]. Each repair also keeps a working product in use. For a part that only needs a clip, knob or bracket, the cheapest new product is often the more expensive choice.