Halfway through a wash the breaker would go, every time. He isolated the heating element, then showed me the spot where it had shorted onto the tub. New element, insulation rechecked, and no trips at all since.
Cornelius B.2026-05-19
Repair or replace
Repair or replace: the arithmetic, written out
Two tables and one line between them — what the work bands at, what the machine costs new, and where the halfway mark actually sits.
The rule
Replace above half — and where half really falls
The rule of thumb almost everyone arrives with is the fifty per cent rule: if the repair would cost more than half a new machine, buy the new machine. It is a sound frame. What it leaves out is the second number, and on built-in equipment the second number is the one that moves.
Our whole book of repair bands runs from $190 to $2,470, parts and labour together. Half of a comparable professional range is $3,250–$7,250. Half of a built-in refrigerator or column is $4,750–$8,750. Half of a built-in dishwasher is $800–$1,600. Two of those three lines sit a long way above anything we quote; the third does not, and that is the honest shape of this decision.
None of that is an argument for repairing everything. It is an argument for finding out what is wrong before deciding, which is what the $80 diagnostic is for and the only thing it is for.
The second number
What the machine costs, and half of it
A comparable Viking range, built-in refrigerator or dishwasher, appliance only — before delivery, installation or cabinetry. National appliance pricing, not Florida labour.
| Instead of repairing | New, appliance only | Half of that |
|---|---|---|
| Professional range, the usual repair-or-replace comparison | $6,500–$14,500 | $3,250–$7,250 |
| Built-in refrigerator or column | $9,500–$17,500 | $4,750–$8,750 |
| Built-in dishwasher | $1,600–$3,200 | $800–$1,600 |
Family by family
Which repairs clear the line
Each row below takes the bands that genuinely apply to that appliance family — not the whole book — and sets their ceiling against half of the machine they would replace.
| Family | Repairs band at | Half of new | Against the line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking | $190–$1,000 | $3,250–$7,250 | Every band clears it |
| Refrigeration | $250–$2,470 | $4,750–$8,750 | Every band clears it |
| Dishwashing | $240–$1,000 | $800–$1,600 | The top band reaches it |
Cooking
The dearest cooking repair we quote is $1,000, and half of a professional range is $3,250–$7,250. There is no arithmetic in which an ignition fault, a thermostat or a heating element argues for a new range. What argues for one is a cabinet that has been rebuilt around a discontinued opening, or a machine carrying three separate faults at once. Range repair sets out which of those faults present the same way at the door.
Refrigeration
This is the family people expect to fail the test, because sealed-system work is the dearest thing on our table at $890–$2,470. Set it against half of a built-in refrigerator or column — $4,750–$8,750 — and it still sits well under. A column is built into the run; replacing one is a joinery job before it is an appliance purchase, which pushes the true replacement figure further above the line rather than below it. Refrigerator repair covers how a failing fan is told from a failing circuit, because those two are the whole spread.
Dishwashing
Here the rule finally bites. A dishwasher is the least expensive machine we work on and the cheapest to swap, so half of it is $800–$1,600 — inside the range our own bands reach. A pump or a drain fault is comfortably worth repairing; a failed control board on an older machine is a genuine judgement call, and we will put the two figures side by side rather than lead you toward the one that pays us better. Dishwasher repair has the checks that come before either.
The other side
When we tell you not to repair it
A band clearing the line is a reason to look, not a promise to proceed. Four things turn the answer around, and none of them is the age on the plate:
- Two major faults on one visit. Bands add. A sealed-system fault found alongside a dead control is two repairs, quoted as two, and the sum is what gets weighed against the replacement figure — never the cheaper half of it.
- The part is no longer made. A machine we cannot get a component for is not a repair at any price. We would rather say that on the diagnostic visit than order around it.
- The failure has a cause we cannot fix. Water that reached the electronics, a cabinet distorted by heat, corrosion through a structural panel. The named part is a symptom there, and replacing it buys a season.
- We cannot stand behind it. 90 days on our labour, 365 days on the parts we supply. If a repair will not survive that period on the machine in front of us, quoting it would be selling you a warranty claim.
In each of those cases you keep the written diagnosis. It is worth having when you go shopping: it says what failed and why, which is the difference between choosing a replacement and being sold one.
How it runs
What the diagnostic buys before you decide
Flat $80 diagnostic covering the visit and the full diagnostic sequence, credited toward the repair once you approve the work. You get a written estimate before any part is ordered or any labour begins. That estimate is what turns this page from a set of bands into your number: the fault named, the part priced, the lead time written down beside it.
We do not bill by the hour, so a fault that takes ninety minutes to find costs the same as one that takes ten. And if the honest answer is that the machine is finished, you will hear it on the visit rather than after a part has been ordered. The full pricing terms and the warranty set out the rest.
What it costs
What does a Viking repair cost in Ponte Vedra Beach?
Flat $80 diagnostic covering the visit and the full diagnostic sequence, credited toward the repair once you approve the work. After that the work falls into bands, and this is the whole book we quote from — parts and labour together, before tax. Nothing above $80 is charged until you have the written figure in your hand and have said yes to it.
| The work | Typical total |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic visit, credited toward the repair | $80 |
| Igniter or burner assembly | $200–$530 |
| Oven thermostat or heating element | $190–$550 |
| Control board or touch panel | $410–$1,000 |
| Refrigeration fan or defrost system | $250–$630 |
| Dishwasher pump or control | $240–$720 |
| Compressor or sealed-system repair | $890–$2,470 |
The spread inside a band is mostly the part, not the hour: the same fault on two machines can want a sensor or a whole assembly. Where a repair would land above $2,470 we say so before ordering anything, and we say it beside what a replacement would cost rather than leaving you to look it up. The full table and what the fee buys, and where a repair stops being worth doing.
Find out which side of the line yours is on
Tell us the machine and the symptom on the telephone. If it sounds like one we would advise against repairing, we will say so before you book anything.
90 days on our labour, 365 days on the parts we supply. Genuine OEM parts.
Questions
Asked before the visit is booked
- What is the 50% rule for appliance repair?
- It is a rule of thumb: replace when the repair would cost more than half of a new machine. On our tables that line sits at $3,250–$7,250 for a professional range and $4,750–$8,750 for built-in refrigeration. The dearest band we quote is $890–$2,470, so the rule normally lands on repair.
- Is it worth replacing the compressor on a built-in refrigerator?
- Usually, on a built-in. The work bands at $890–$2,470; a comparable built-in refrigerator or column is $9,500–$17,500 before the cabinetry is touched, and half of that is $4,750–$8,750. The repair sits under the line. A leak found in a second circuit changes the answer, and we say so.
- What is the most expensive part to replace?
- Sealed-system work — the compressor and the circuit it sits in — at $890–$2,470. Nothing else on our table comes near it: control board or touch panel at $410–$1,000, and oven thermostat or heating element at $190–$550. The $80 diagnostic exists to tell those apart before anyone orders a part, because they are not the same decision.
- Is it worth repairing a twenty-year-old appliance?
- Age on its own decides nothing. Two things do: whether the part is still made, and whether the machine has one fault or three. A twenty-year-old built-in with a failed fan is worth the $80 to find out. The same box with a sealed-system leak and a door that no longer seals usually is not.
- How much do you charge per hour?
- We do not bill by the hour. The visit is a flat $80 covering the whole diagnostic sequence, and it comes off the invoice when you approve the repair. The repair itself is quoted as one written figure, parts and labour together. A fault that takes ninety minutes to find costs the same as one that takes ten.
Owner feedback
Owners who had this decision to make
4.2 out of 5 from 80 customer reviews. Each one below is a single visit, written by the person who paid for it. Read all 80.