Typical lifespan by appliance
The score measures how far through its expected life the appliance already is. These are the figures the calculator uses — averages for a unit in normal household use, not a guarantee for any individual appliance.
| Appliance | Typical useful life |
|---|---|
| Dishwasher | 10 years |
| Dryer | 13 years |
| Range / Oven | 15 years |
| Refrigerator | 13 years |
| Washer | 11 years |
Don’t know how old the appliance is? The serial-number age lookup can decode it from the rating label.
How the score is calculated
Two ratios drive the result. The first is age against typical lifespan, capped so that a very old unit cannot dominate the score on its own. The second is the repair estimate as a share of replacement price. They are combined into a single 0–100 “replacement pressure” score, weighted so that cost matters slightly more than age.
- Below 48 — repair is likely reasonable.
- 48 to 71 — genuinely borderline; compare both options carefully.
- 72 and above — replacement is likely more economical.
We show the score rather than a single yes/no because the honest answer near the middle of the range is “it depends on things a calculator cannot see”.
What the score considers
- Age compared with typical useful life
- Repair cost as a percentage of replacement price
- Expected future repair exposure implied by remaining life
Factors the calculator cannot know
Condition, installation cost, energy use, whether the appliance is part of a matching set, sentimental value, hidden damage, parts availability, warranty status, and whether the diagnosis you were given is even correct. Weigh those yourself before making the final decision.
Not sure what the repair should cost?
If you have a quote and want to sanity-check it, the repair-cost estimator gives typical U.S. ranges by appliance and repair type. If the appliance is showing a fault code, the error-code lookup explains what it means and which part is usually behind it.