Search this question and you will find confident percentages and age cut-offs. They are guesses dressed as rules, because they know nothing about your appliance, the fault in front of you or what a comparable replacement costs where you live. Four questions do better.
1. What Has Actually Failed?
Faults are not equal. A door gasket, a thermostat, a fan motor, a defrost heater or a control board are components, and replacing one leaves the rest of a sound appliance in place. A leak in the sealed refrigerant system, or a failed compressor, is a different class of repair. Get a specific diagnosis before you weigh anything.
2. How Has the Rest of It Aged?
An appliance where everything else works, the gaskets are supple, the drawers run properly and the cabinet is sound is worth more than its age suggests. One that has already had two repairs, has cracked interior parts and sagging shelves is telling you where it is heading.
3. What Does the Replacement Really Cost?
- The appliance itself, in a size and configuration that fits the existing opening.
- Delivery, installation and removal of the old unit.
- Any plumbing or electrical work for a water line or a different outlet position.
- Built-in and counter-depth models often bring cabinetry or trim work with them.
4. What Happens If You Do Nothing?
Some faults are stable for years. Others get worse and take other parts with them, and a refrigerator that cycles badly costs money quietly through spoiled food and higher running cost.
The practical order is: get a diagnosis with a written estimate, ask what else the technician saw while the panels were off, then compare that number against a full replacement cost rather than a sticker price. We would rather tell you an appliance is not worth repairing than take money for a repair that only buys a few months. Book a Maytag refrigerator repair diagnosis and decide from the estimate.