Repair or replace
When the repair is worth it, and when it is not
Two tables and one judgement: what the fault costs to put right, set against what the cabinet costs to replace.
Which way does the arithmetic usually go?
Toward the repair. The dearest work in our book is a compressor or sealed-system repair at $860–$2,340, and everything else we quote falls between $240 and $820. A comparable built-in is $11,600 to $16,800 for the appliance by itself, before it is delivered, before it is fitted, and before the $2,000 to $5,000 that custom panels and cabinetry add when the new cabinet does not match the opening the old one left.
That gap is why the honest answer is usually repair, and it is also why the answer is not always repair. A built-in is a collection of systems that age together. When one of them fails on a cabinet whose others are sound, the decision is easy. When the expensive one fails on a cabinet where the cheap ones have been failing for years, it is not, and pretending otherwise sells a repair that will be followed by another.
What it costs
What does a repair cost against replacing the cabinet?
Most of this work lands between $240 and $2,340, parts and labour together, and the visit that decides which end of that you are at is a flat $80 credited to the repair once you approve it. The firm number is written down after the diagnosis, not guessed at over the phone.
| Work | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic visit | $80 flat, credited to the repair |
| Door gasket or seal replacement | $240–$650 parts and labour |
| Evaporator or condenser fan motor | $250–$580 parts and labour |
| Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor | $250–$640 parts and labour |
| Ice maker, water valve or supply line | $240–$670 parts and labour |
| Electronic control board | $400–$820 parts and labour |
| Compressor or sealed-system repair | $860–$2,340 parts and labour |
| Replacing it | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Typical 36-42 inch built-in, the usual repair-or-replace comparison | $11,600–$16,800 |
| Custom panels and integrated cabinetry, on top of the appliance | $2,000–$5,000 |
| Replacement wine storage or an undercounter unit, appliance only | $3,500–$5,500 |
Written estimate before anything is opened up. The invoice carries one number; a band is what can honestly be published before the cabinet is open. The full table is on the pricing page.
Three answers
Which of these is your cabinet in?
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Repair, and it is not close
One identified fault on a cabinet whose condenser, door seals and controls are otherwise sound. Defrost circuits, evaporator and condenser fans, control boards, gaskets and ice makers all live between $240 and $820, and the cabinet they are going back into is a five-figure appliance. Replacing at that point also means replacing the opening it sits in.
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A judgement call, and we will say so
A sealed-system failure — $860–$2,340 — on a cabinet in the middle of its life. Here the age of everything that is not broken starts to matter: a condenser that has spent fifteen years within a mile of the Atlantic, hinge hardware that has already been renewed once, a board that is still available but no longer stocked. We give you the reading and the reasoning, not a recommendation dressed up as a fact.
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Do not spend it
Two or three failures at once on a cabinet that has been running two decades and more: a compressor that has stopped pumping, a condenser corroded past its fins, a control board no longer made. Each of those alone would be worth putting right. Together they are a replacement conversation, and it is one worth having before parts are ordered rather than after.
Does the 50% rule apply to a built-in?
The rule — stop when the repair costs more than half of replacing the appliance — was written for equipment that is cheap to replace and quick to swap. Held against a built-in it almost never triggers: half of $11,600 to $16,800 is a long way above $860–$2,340, so on price alone the rule says repair nearly every time, including on cabinets where we would tell you not to.
So we use the part of it that still holds — the idea that a repair has to be set against a replacement, not judged on its own — and replace the arithmetic with the cabinet's condition. How much life is left in the parts that are not broken is the question the percentage cannot see.
What the diagnostic has to settle first
None of this can be decided over the phone, because the two ends of the table produce the same complaint. A cabinet drifting warm is a restricted condenser, a stalled fan, a defrost circuit that stops early, a door seal letting humid coastal air in, or a sealed system that has lost charge — and those sit at opposite ends of the money.
A flat $80 buys the readings that separate them, written down rather than recited, and a written estimate that separates parts from labour. Sealed-system work, where it turns out to be that, is carried out by EPA Section 608 certified technicians. Flat $80 diagnostic, credited toward the repair when you approve the work. If the answer is that the cabinet is not worth the repair, you have paid for the diagnosis and nothing else, and the findings are yours to take wherever you like.
Customer reviews
After the visit that settled it
4.8 out of 5 from 67 customer reviews. Each one below is a single visit, described by the person who paid for it.
Both compartments had been creeping warmer for a month. He ruled out airflow and defrost first, with the readings written down, then located a loss on the evaporator return and rebuilt that joint instead of topping it up.
Niall J.2026-05-15
We had been told the cabinet was beyond saving. He tested pressures properly, found a restriction rather than a failed compressor, cleared the circuit with a new drier and it has been steady ever since.
Elias H.2026-03-24
After a compressor swap done elsewhere the cabinet still would not hold. He found the system had been left with moisture in it, evacuated it properly, fitted a new drier, and the readings finally settled.
Rosalind E.2025-05-22
Is it worth it
The questions this decision is usually asked in
- Is it worth fixing a Sub-Zero refrigerator?
- On a cabinet that has been looked after, usually. Repairs here run $240 to $2,340, parts and labour, against $11,600 to $16,800 for a comparable built-in before delivery, installation or panels. What changes the answer is condition, not age on its own.
- What is the 50% rule for appliance repair?
- The rule of thumb people arrive with: stop when the repair passes half what replacing the appliance costs. On a built-in it rarely bites. Half of the $11,600 to $16,800 a comparable cabinet costs sits well above $860–$2,340, the dearest row in our table.
- Is it worth replacing the compressor on a built-in refrigerator?
- The arithmetic says yes and the cabinet sometimes says no. A compressor or sealed-system repair runs $860–$2,340 against $8,600 to $19,400 to replace the appliance. What argues against it is what else the same years reached: condenser, seals, a board no longer made.
- Is it worth repairing a twenty-year-old Sub-Zero?
- Often, which surprises people. The trade generally reckons a built-in of that age has years left while its sealed system is sound, and a defrost, fan, control or seal repair at $240 to $820 buys them. A failed compressor at twenty years is the harder call.
- What does the $80 diagnostic settle?
- Which band you are in, and therefore which conversation this is. The readings are written down and the estimate separates parts from labour. If the answer turns out to be replacement rather than repair, you have spent $80 to find that out and nothing else.
Describe the symptom on the phone and you will get our first view of which of the three answers you are probably in, before anybody books a visit.