The question to ask first

Before talking about price, ask yourself whether this machine suited you before it broke down. If it was already too slow for what you use it for, repairing it will just give you back a machine that's too slow: you'll have paid to get the same problem back. If, on the other hand, it did the job perfectly well, then a targeted repair is almost always the right move.

Faults where repairing is almost always worth it

The drive. This is the part that fails most often, and replacing it transforms the machine. Moving from a mechanical drive to an SSD makes a seven-year-old computer feel more responsive than it did fresh out of the factory, for office work and internet browsing. It's the repair with the best benefit-to-cost ratio, by far.

The memory. Adding memory to a machine that's short of it costs little and is immediately noticeable as soon as you open several tabs or several programs.

Cooling and thermal paste. In our climate, this is maintenance, not an exceptional repair. A machine that runs hot, blows hard and switches itself off is very rarely fit for the scrapheap: it's just clogged up.

A laptop battery. On a laptop whose battery no longer holds a charge, replacing it restores battery life without touching anything else. Worth assessing case by case: some glued-in batteries cost a lot more in labour.

The software system. A corrupted Windows, a system clogged with unwanted software: this can be fixed without changing a single part.

The cases where you should stop

The motherboard. On a laptop, a dead motherboard generally means the end of the road: the part alone costs the price of a used machine, and its availability is unpredictable.

Extensive liquid damage. A quick clean can save the device, but once corrosion has set in, faults come back in waves. You fix one thing, another gives out.

The screen on an entry-level laptop. Replacing it often comes close to the value of the machine. Worth assessing case by case, never as a rule.

Faults that keep piling up. Three repairs in a year on the same device is a warning sign. Each one was justified on its own, the whole pattern isn't.

The rule of thumb

Compare the quote to the price of an equivalent, recently used machine, not the price of a brand-new, top-of-the-range one. Under half, repairing is almost always the winning move. Between half and three-quarters, it depends on the age and overall condition. Beyond that, replace it.

Add to the scales what people always forget: on a new machine, you have to reinstall the software, find your passwords again, transfer your files and get used to a new system. It's not just an expense, it's time — sometimes several hours of it.

A common special case: the machine "too old for Windows"

Many perfectly healthy computers are thrown away because they can no longer take the latest version of Windows. For office work and internet browsing, a lightweight Linux distribution gives them years more service, for free and without changing a single part. It's not a universal solution — it doesn't suit you if you depend on a specific Windows program — but it avoids an unnecessary purchase in plenty of cases.

Before deciding anything

Back up. A machine showing signs of weakness can stop working for good during diagnosis or during transport. Your files are worth more than the machine: get them somewhere safe first. How to avoid losing your files →

And insist on a written diagnosis before any work starts. A serious repairer tells you what's broken, what it costs, and lets you decide. If someone offers you a repair without having identified the fault, find someone else.