09/02/2026
"It's a lemon. I'll fix this and something else will go two months later."
I hear some version of that almost every week, and it's a fair worry — nobody wants to spend $300 on a washer and spend it again at Christmas.
So instead of telling you what I think, I counted. I've kept records on every job since 2019. Here's what 3,029 repaired machines actually did next:
→ 94.65% never came back. Not once.
→ 1.25% needed me again within 30 days. That one's on me, not the appliance — and labor is covered for six months, so it costs you nothing.
→ 4.16% had a separate failure later, a median of SIX MONTHS after the first repair.
That last one matters. When a repaired machine does break again, it's a different part on a different day half a year later. That's not a repair coming undone — that's the same way a car needs brakes one year and a battery the next.
Put the other way: 98.75% of the time, the repair held.
A machine that just had a failed part replaced isn't at the end of its life. It's a machine with one known-good new component in it and a documented history. Compare that to a $400 used washer with no history and no warranty, or $700-$1,200 for new.
Most repairs I do run $167-$400, parts and labor included. And when a repair genuinely isn't worth it, I'll tell you that plainly and charge you the service call instead of talking you into it.
Full breakdown, including exactly how I counted:
https://cantonappliancerepair.com/is-it-worth-repairing/
— Sam, Canton Appliance Repair
(330) 915-7222
Almost every week someone tells me a version of the same thing. It’s a lemon. I’ll fix this and something else will go two months later. I’d rather put the money toward a new one. It is a fair worry.
