Repair vs Replace Dryer: Break-Even Cost Calculator 2026

The repair wins today — but the new dryer wins the decade

A dryer repair is a bet on the old machine: you pay the repair cost, and the dryer gives you its remaining life. Replacing is a bet the other way: you pay the new price, minus the energy the new dryer saves over that same life, plus the cost of getting rid of the old one. Repair total = R. Replace total = C − S × L + Dd. The difference is replace − repair: positive means REPAIR wins, negative means REPLACE wins. On the defaults — repair $250, new dryer $700, remaining life 4 years, saving $35 a year, disposal $50 — the repair total is $250.00 and the replace total is $610.00, so REPAIR wins by $360.00. Cost per year: repair $62.50 vs replace $152.50. But look at the 10-year lens: repair now, then replace at the end of the remaining life, costs $790.00; replace now costs $400.00 — REPLACE wins by $390.00 over 10 years. The new dryer's energy savings run the full decade, while the repaired dryer's savings stop when it dies.

At the defaults — repair $250, new dryer $700, remaining life 4 years, saving $35 a year, disposal $50 — the repair total is $250.00, the replace total is $610.00, REPAIR wins by $360.00, the cost per year is $62.50 for the repair vs $152.50 for the replacement, the break-even repair cost is $610.00, the break-even new price is $340.00, the break-even remaining life is 14.29 yrs (exact 14.2857), the break-even annual saving is $125.00/yr, the break-even disposal is none (-$310.00), and the 10-year lens is $790.00 vs $400.00 — REPLACE wins by $390.00 over 10 years. Check the identities: repair = R; replace = C − S × L + Dd; difference = replace − repair; break-even repair cost = replace total; break-even new price = R + S × L − Dd; break-even remaining life = (C + Dd − R) / S; break-even annual saving = (C + Dd − R) / L; break-even disposal = R − C + S × L; 10-year repair-then-replace = R + C + Dd − S × (10 − L); 10-year replace-now = C + Dd − S × 10. Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: repair $250, new dryer $700, remaining life 4 years, saving $35 a year, disposal $50.

Line 1 — the repair total. Just the repair: $250.00.

Line 2 — the replace total. $700 − $35 × 4 + $50 = $700 − $140 + $50 = $610.00.

Line 3 — the difference. $610.00 − $250.00 = $360.00 in favour of repairing.

Line 4 — cost per year. Repair: $250.00 ÷ 4 = $62.50 a year. Replace: $610.00 ÷ 4 = $152.50 a year.

Line 5 — the break-evens. The repair would have to cost $610.00 to tie. The new dryer would have to cost $340.00 to tie. The old dryer would have to last 14.29 yrs (exact 14.2857) for the saving to pay for the new one. The new dryer would have to save $125.00/yr to tie. There is no break-even disposal cost — it would be -$310.00, so repairing wins even with free disposal.

Line 6 — the 10-year lens. Repair now, then replace after 4 years: $250 + $700 + $50 − $35 × 6 = $790.00. Replace now: $700 + $50 − $35 × 10 = $400.00. REPLACE wins by $390.00 over 10 years — the verdict flips.

Reverse: the break-even repair cost is $610.00; a $610 repair costs $610.00, exactly tying the replace total. The break-even new price is $340.00; a $340 dryer costs $250.00 to replace, tying the repair. The break-even remaining life is 14.29 yrs (exact 14.2857); at 14.29 yrs the replace total is $249.85 (REPLACE wins by $0.15), at 14.28 yrs it is $250.20 (REPAIR wins by $0.20) — 14.29 is the nearest. The break-even annual saving is $125.00/yr; at $125/yr saving the replace total is $250.00, tying the repair. The break-even disposal is none — the disposal cost that would tie is -$310.00; repairing wins even with free disposal. The 10-year lens: repair-then-replace $790.00 vs replace-now $400.00 — REPLACE wins by $390.00.

Every branch, checked

Repair $100: repair $100.00, replace $610.00 — REPAIR wins by $510.00. A $100 repair is a bargain: the repair costs $100.00 against $610.00 to replace, so REPAIR wins by $510.00.

Repair $500: repair $500.00, replace $610.00 — REPAIR wins by $110.00. Even a $500 repair still wins: $500.00 against $610.00, so REPAIR wins by $110.00 — the repair is close to the break-even of $610.00.

Repair $650: repair $650.00, replace $610.00 — REPLACE wins by $40.00. At $650 the repair costs more than replacing: $650.00 against $610.00, so REPLACE wins by $40.00 — the verdict flips once the repair passes the $610.00 break-even.

New dryer $400: repair $250.00, replace $310.00 — REPAIR wins by $60.00. A $400 new dryer costs $310.00 to replace, so REPAIR wins by $60.00 — a cheap new dryer narrows the gap but does not close it.

New dryer $1,000: repair $250.00, replace $910.00 — REPAIR wins by $660.00. A $1,000 new dryer costs $910.00 to replace, so REPAIR wins by $660.00 — the pricier the replacement, the stronger the case for repairing.

Remaining life 2 years: repair $250.00, replace $680.00 — REPAIR wins by $430.00. With only 2 years of life left, replacing costs $680.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $430.00 — but the 10-year lens is closer, because the new dryer's savings run longer.

Remaining life 8 years: repair $250.00, replace $470.00 — REPAIR wins by $220.00. With 8 years of life left, replacing costs $470.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $220.00 — a longer remaining life makes the new dryer's energy saving worth more, so the gap shrinks.

Remaining life 1 year: repair $250.00, replace $715.00 — REPAIR wins by $465.00. With only 1 year of life left, replacing costs $715.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $465.00 — but you will be buying a new dryer next year anyway, so check the 10-year lens.

Energy saving $0/year: repair $250.00, replace $750.00 — REPAIR wins by $500.00. With no energy saving at all, replacing costs $750.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $500.00 — and there is no break-even remaining life, because no amount of life makes the new dryer pay for itself.

Energy saving $100/year: repair $250.00, replace $350.00 — REPAIR wins by $100.00. At $100 a year of saving, replacing costs $350.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $100.00 — the saving has to reach $125.00 a year before the two tie.

Energy saving $200/year: repair $250.00, replace -$50.00 — REPLACE wins by $300.00. At $200 a year of saving, replacing costs -$50.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPLACE wins by $300.00 — the energy savings alone pay for the new dryer, and the verdict flips.

Disposal $0: repair $250.00, replace $560.00 — REPAIR wins by $310.00. With free disposal, replacing costs $560.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $310.00 — free disposal is not enough to flip the verdict, because the break-even disposal cost is -$310.00.

Disposal $150: repair $250.00, replace $710.00 — REPAIR wins by $460.00. With $150 of disposal, replacing costs $710.00 against a $250.00 repair, so REPAIR wins by $460.00 — a pricier haul-away only strengthens the case for repairing.

What the defaults assume

The model assumes the repair restores the dryer to its full remaining life — if the repair only buys a year, use 1 year of remaining life, not 4. It assumes the new dryer's energy saving is steady every year; a heat-pump dryer saves more than a standard electric one, so check the saving figure on the model's energy label. It assumes the disposal cost is what you actually pay — many retailers haul the old dryer away free, so set it to $0 when that applies (at $0 disposal the replace total is $560.00 and REPAIR still wins by $310.00). It assumes the 10-year lens buys exactly one replacement dryer in each path — a dryer that lasts longer than 10 years would change the second decade, not the first. With a repair cost of $0 the verdict is REPAIR wins by $610.00. With 1 year of life left and no saving, the break-even life is — (no saving, so no life ever ties — a model-level edge; at the calc level an energy saving of $0 is valid input and the break-even-life field renders —). Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum; the reverses are nearest-value solutions, and the exact unrounded figures (14.2857) are stated wherever the rounded figures appear.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The homeowner quoted $250 for a heating-element repair: they learn the repair wins by $360.00 today, because the old dryer still has 4 years of life — and they check the $650 branch (REPLACE wins by $40.00) before authorising a bigger repair.
• The renter whose dryer died with 1 year left on the lease: they learn the repair wins by $465.00 on the short lens, but the 10-year lens favours replacing — so they weigh whether they will still be in the same home in 10 years.
• The energy-conscious buyer eyeing a $200-a-year saving: they learn the new dryer pays for itself outright — the replace total is -$50.00 and REPLACE wins by $300.00 — so they check the $100-a-year branch (REPAIR wins by $100.00) to see how much saving the flip actually needs.
• The landlord replacing dryers across several units: they learn the break-even new price is $340.00 — any dryer under that price beats repairing — and they check the disposal-$150 branch (REPAIR wins by $460.00) before budgeting haul-away.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is exact arithmetic on your five inputs: repair = R; replace = C − S × L + Dd; difference = replace − repair; break-even repair cost = replace total; break-even new price = R + S × L − Dd; break-even remaining life = (C + Dd − R) / S; break-even annual saving = (C + Dd − R) / L; break-even disposal = R − C + S × L; 10-year repair-then-replace = R + C + Dd − S × (10 − L); 10-year replace-now = C + Dd − S × 10. The 4-decimal exact is shown where the rounding matters: the break-even remaining life is 14.2857 (shown as 14.29 yrs); at 14.29 yrs the replace total is $249.85 (REPLACE wins by $0.15) and at 14.28 yrs it is $250.20 (REPAIR wins by $0.20). What the model cannot do is predict how long your dryer will actually last — the remaining-life input is your best guess, and the break-even life of 14.29 years tells you how long it would have to last for the new dryer's saving to pay for it. For the washer version, see the repair vs replace washer calculator; for the car version, see repair vs replace car; for gas versus electric dryers, see the gas vs electric dryer calculator. This is a calculator, not repair advice.