The repair versus replace question: when do you give up on a device?

[GlassyCandle]

Right to repair is getting more attention politically but the practical question of when to repair versus replace is one most of us navigate without a principled framework. Cost is part of it, environmental considerations are part of it, attachment to a specific device is sometimes part of it.

I have a device that has been repaired twice and is probably ready for a third repair that might cost more than a replacement but would extend its life by another couple of years. The rational and the emotional answers to this question are not the same.

[WWFGareth98]

Repair if the cost is under 50 percent of replacement and the result will be reliable for at least two years. That is my rule and I try to stick to it even when the emotional calculation pulls a different way.