Is it worth fixing?

Question one: how much life is left, not how old is it

Age tells you surprisingly little. What ends a machine's life is more specific. Tick what applies:

• The battery is worn, but on my model it is a replaceable part.
• It runs on an old mechanical hard drive, which is usually the real reason it feels slow.
• Replacement parts for this model are still available.
• The body, hinges and screen are structurally sound.

More ticks means more healthy life left, whatever the machine's age.

Question two: what kind of fault is it

One line decides most of it: does the broken part bolt in, or is it soldered to the mainboard?

• Usually worth fixing: a worn battery, a failing or full drive, too little memory, a cracked screen on a common model, a worn charging port, or a software fault.
• Deserves more caution: liquid damage, a fault in a chip soldered to the board, or several faults at once.

Question three: what is it worth to you after the repair

Not what you paid, and not its second-hand value. Compare the repair against the full cost of replacing it:

• The price of a new machine that is genuinely as good, not just new.
• The hours of setting it up and moving your files across.
• Licences and subscriptions that do not transfer cleanly.
• The learning curve if a new machine changes how you work.

The option most people are never offered

If the machine is structurally healthy and the real complaint is speed, the answer may not be a repair at all. A solid-state drive and more memory can make an older laptop feel close to new for a fraction of the cost of replacing it.

Still not sure?

You do not have to decide alone. Tell us the fault and we will tell you, free, whether it sounds worth doing. If it needs a visit, we agree the call-out before we travel, find the fault properly, name what is wrong, and give you one fixed quote. If it is not worth fixing, we will tell you, and there is nothing further to pay beyond any call-out you agreed.