How long should kitchen appliances last, and when is repair worth it?

Typical service lives give you a baseline for judging whether a failure is premature. Refrigerators generally run 10–15 years, freezers 12–16, dishwashers 9–12, washing machines 8–12, ovens and hobs 13–15, microwaves 7–10, and small appliances such as kettles and toasters 3–6. Actual life varies enormously with build quality, usage and water hardness.

The common rule of thumb is the 50% rule: if the repair costs more than half the price of an equivalent new appliance, replacement is usually the better decision. It is a reasonable starting point, but it should be adjusted by where the appliance is in its life. A repair costing 40% of replacement is sensible on a three-year-old machine and questionable on a twelve-year-old one, because other components are approaching the end of their lives too.

Some repairs are almost always worth doing. Door seals, drain pumps, heating elements, belts, thermostats, hinges and filters are inexpensive parts with a good chance of restoring several more years of service. Some are usually not: a failed compressor in a fridge or a sealed-system refrigerant fault is expensive, and on an older unit rarely justifies itself. Control boards fall in between and are often the single most expensive part.

Efficiency is a real factor for appliances that run constantly. A fifteen-year-old fridge or freezer can use substantially more electricity than a current model, and that difference accumulates over years in a way it does not for an oven used a few hours a week.

Before paying for anything, check whether the appliance is still under warranty, and look up the specific model and fault — many failures are well documented and some have inexpensive known fixes.