Replace or Repair Your AC? The 50/50/10 Rule

When an AC repair quote lands on your counter, the question is always: fix it, or replace the whole thing? Here's the rule of thumb we give every customer.

The 50/50/10 rule

Replace if any of these are true:

• The system is 10+ years old AND the repair costs 50% or more of a new system
• The repair cost times the system's age is greater than 5,000
• The system uses R-22 refrigerant (phased out, increasingly expensive to recharge)

Repair if:

• The system is under 10 years old
• The repair is a one-off (capacitor, contactor, blower motor)
• The rest of the system is in good shape and well-maintained

What we do

We always give you both numbers — the repair cost today, and the replacement cost — along with our honest read on which makes more sense for your situation. No pressure. We'd rather do a $300 repair you come back to us for than push you into a system you didn't need.