Comparisons
Repair the old AC or replace it
Repair anything that is not the compressor — capacitors, fan motors, boards, drains and gas leaks are all worth fixing on almost any unit. Replace when the compressor has failed on an old non-inverter, because you would spend a large share of a new unit on a machine whose other parts are equally aged.
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The parts that are always worth repairing
Capacitors, contactors, fan motors, drain lines, thermistors and flare-joint leaks are inexpensive relative to any unit and restore it fully. A unit condemned for any of these was condemned by someone who did not test it. Ask what was measured before accepting a recommendation to replace.
Where the calculation genuinely turns
A failed compressor on an old non-inverter unit. The replacement cost is a large fraction of a new unit, the labour is significant, and everything else in the machine has aged alongside it — so a successful compressor swap often buys a season or two before the next failure. That is the case where replacement is the honest advice.
The running-cost argument for replacing sooner
An old non-inverter unit running daily costs meaningfully more per season than a new inverter. Where a repair is borderline, that difference can tip it: you are not comparing repair cost against purchase price, but repair cost plus several more seasons of higher bills against purchase price plus lower ones.
Getting both numbers before deciding
Any honest quote for a major repair should sit next to the cost of a replacement unit, so the choice is yours rather than the technician's. If a repair quote arrives without that comparison, ask for it. It is the single question that most often changes the decision.
Should I repair my old AC or buy a new one?
How long should an AC last here?
A well-maintained split unit gives many years, and our climate shortens that for anything neglected — a condenser that has never been cleaned works harder every season. Age alone is a poor guide; what the unit draws against its rating plate tells you far more about its remaining life than the year on the label.
Is a compressor replacement ever worth it?
On a relatively young unit, or a large or inverter unit where the replacement cost of the whole machine is high, yes. On an old non-inverter split it usually is not, because the rest of the machine is the same age as the part that just failed. Get the replacement-unit price alongside the repair quote.
The technician says it needs gas every year. Repair or replace?
Neither yet — find the leak. Refrigerant is sealed, not consumed, so annual refilling means a leak nobody has traced, usually at a flare joint or a valve core. Both are cheap to repair once located. Paying for gas every summer costs more across three years than finding the leak once.
Rather have it done?
AC repair covers units that will not start, trip the breaker, run without cooling, leak water into the room or make a new noise. Callout and diagnosis in Islamabad or Rawalpindi is PKR 2,500, taken off the bill if you proceed, and the repair is priced before any part is fitted.
AC repair and spare parts in Islamabad — prices and scope