Two independent guides land on the same test for whether to repair or replace: if the appliance is more than ten years old, or the repair costs more than half a new one, replace it. A refrigerator repair averages $275 and most run $150 to $400. The service call fee is $50 to $130 on top, and whether it comes off the repair bill is a question worth asking before the van arrives.
| Service | Typical |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator repairNational range | $150 to $400 per repair |
| Appliance repair, other major appliancesNational range | $100 to $400 per repair |
Ranges last checked September 2026. They come down automatically when they are due to be rechecked.
Every figure above comes from a named source we can link to, with the date we last checked it. We publish ranges rather than single prices because a range is what a provider will actually give you: the same job moves with what is being worked on, the materials, how hard it is to get at and how busy the trade is locally. Treat these as the order of magnitude to expect before you call, not as a quote.
The figures here are national. Where a source publishes figures state by state, the state pages carry that local figure instead of this one. We do not scale a national number by a multiplier of our own invention.
Every range carries a review date. When that date passes the number comes down until it is rechecked, rather than sitting here undated.
Two independent cost guides arrive at the same rule, which is unusual enough to be worth trusting. An appliance more than ten years old, or one where the repair costs more than half of a replacement, is generally not worth repairing. On a refrigerator, with new units at a thousand to three thousand dollars, that puts the line somewhere around five hundred to fifteen hundred depending on what you would replace it with.
The test is useful precisely because it is arithmetic rather than judgment. Get the repair quote, price the replacement you would actually buy, and the decision makes itself.
A diagnostic or service call fee runs fifty to a hundred and thirty dollars depending on the source, and it typically covers the trip and the diagnosis, sometimes with the first hour of labor.
What neither published guide states is whether that fee is credited against the repair if you go ahead. It is commonly assumed and it is not universal. So the question to ask when booking, in these words, is: if I approve the repair, does the diagnostic fee come off the bill? A shop that says yes has told you something useful. A shop that says no has also told you something useful, and you found out before the van arrived rather than after.
The FTC Cooling-Off Rule excludes maintenance and repair calls the buyer initiated. Calling a technician out to fix your dryer is not a door-to-door sale and you do not get three days to cancel it.
The exclusion is narrower than it looks, though. It covers the service you asked for, expressly excluding additional goods or services sold on the spot. A technician who arrives for a dryer repair and sells you an extended service plan, or a replacement unit, has made a separate sale at your door, and that one is covered.
Ask for the service call fee and whether it is credited, before booking.
Have the model and serial number ready. Part availability is a real driver of both cost and time, and a technician who can check it in advance can tell you whether the repair is even sensible.
Get the repair quote and the replacement price side by side, then apply the ten-year and fifty-percent test yourself.
Ask what the labor warranty is on the repair and whether the part carries its own.
Be careful with anything sold to you during the visit that you did not call about. That is a separate sale, and your three days apply to it.
Two guides give the same test: if the appliance is over ten years old, or the repair costs more than half a replacement, replace it. New refrigerators run $1,000 to $3,000, which is the number to measure against.
An average of $275, with most between $150 and $400. By part: a compressor is $300 to $800, a control board $200 to $500, a thermostat $100 to $250, a door gasket $75 to $200.
A washing machine $100 to $400, a dryer $100 to $300, an oven $150 to $350, a dishwasher $100 to $300. Gas appliances run 10 to 20 percent more than electric.
Between $50 and $130 depending on the source, covering the trip and the diagnosis and sometimes the first hour of labor.
Neither published guide says, so this page does not claim it. Ask when booking, in those words: if I approve the repair, does the diagnostic fee come off the bill?
Generally not. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule excludes buyer-initiated maintenance and repair calls. It does not exclude additional goods or services the technician sells you on the spot, and those do carry three business days.
The model and serial number. Part availability drives both the cost and the wait, and a technician who can check it in advance can tell you whether the repair makes sense at all.