You're staring at a $900 repair quote for a 12-year-old air conditioner. Fix it, or fund a new one? There's a rule of thumb the industry actually uses, and it fits on a napkin:
The $5,000 rule
Repair cost × system age. Under $5,000 → repair usually wins. Over → put the money toward replacement.
That $900 repair × 12 years = $10,800. The rule says stop feeding it.
Why it works
It quietly encodes two truths: old systems fail more often (each repair is a down payment on the next one), and every year of remaining life is worth less on an aging compressor. A $400 capacitor call on a 4-year-old unit ($1,600) is obviously a repair; the same call on a 15-year-old R-22 dinosaur is a different conversation.
The exceptions that flip it
- R-22 systems: the old refrigerant is phased out and reclaimed supply is expensive — leans replace
- Efficiency gap: jumping an old 10 SEER unit to modern SEER2 equipment can cut cooling costs dramatically — run the savings calculator with your actual bill
- Compressor or coil failure out of warranty: those two repairs alone often decide it
- You're selling next year: the cheap repair usually wins
Run your real numbers
Our free repair-or-replace calculator takes the quote, the age, and the efficiency picture and gives you a straight verdict — the same math, no napkin required.
⚖ Run the $5,000 Rule →
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Repairing after all? Parts ship same-day, and Mike in the chat checks fitment free.