Almost every caller wants one question settled: is this worth fixing? Here is the reasoning we use on site, with nothing held back.
The one-third rule
If a single repair costs more than a third of a replacement and the unit is past twelve years old, replacement usually wins on total cost within four years. Under ten years old with no prior failures, repair almost always wins.
What shifts the answer
Refrigerant type matters: a system still running on R-22 is on borrowed time because the gas is no longer produced. So does the ductwork — a new unit bolted onto bad ducts inherits the same complaint. And if you expect to move within two or three years, the payback window never closes.
