Should You Repair or Sell a Broken Apple Watch?
How much does Apple Watch repair cost? Should you sell it or fix it? We’ll help you decide!
If your Apple Watch is broken there’s a simple way to tell whether you should fix it before you sell it: compare its price as-is versus its net value after repair.
Price Broken VS Net Value Repaired (Apple Watch price in “good” condition – cost of repair)
In general, you’re better off selling your Apple Watch broken. That’s because repair costs often exceed the value of Apple Watches.
For example, Apple charges $229 to repair a Series 3 Aluminum Sport GPS 42mm Apple Watch. But the Watch is only worth $111, so you’d lose $118. Broken, the Watch is worth $8. It’s not much, but it’s still a $126 net swing versus repair.
Not only that, but a brand-new Series 3 Aluminum Sport GPs 42mm costs $309 – just $80 more than the cost of repair. Factor in Apple’s $6.95 shipping fee and the $8 you can get for your broken Apple Watch, and you’d only pay $65.05 more for a new Watch than you’d pay to have your old Watch repaired.
What about DIY repair? It depends on which part needs fixed. Using our Series 3 example, a replacement screen costs $145, which is $34 more than the value of the Watch.
The DIY route only makes sense if the problem can be fixed with a cheaper part, like a $3 battery cable. Here’s how to compare your options so you can decide whether to fix or sell your Apple Watch.
NOTE: If your Apple Watch is still under warranty, you might be able to get it repaired for free. If you have AppleCare+, repairs will cost $69 for all models except Hermes and Edition, which cost $79 to repair. You might also be covered under a carrier insurance policy.
If you’d rather try DIY Apple Watch repair, you can find parts on sites like FixEZ. Prices range from $2 to $5 for cases, batteries and various cables up to $36 to $150 for LCD/digitizer screen assemblies.
Research the part you need and plug its price into the equation to see if it’s worth fixing your Apple Watch. Keep in mind you risk causing more damage and voiding any warranties and insurance policies.
Retrieved 7/17/2019
Now, you can calculate the net value of your Apple Watch after repair, then compare it to its value broken to see which will yield the most money.
Retrieved 7/17/2019
As you can see, you’re better off selling your Apple Watch broken than paying for repair. That said, repair services might be worth it if you want to keep your Apple Watch, and DIY repair can be worthwhile if you only need a cheap part.
Then again, brand-new Apple Watch Series 4 prices begin at $399 – just $50 more than the cost of repair. Given those prices, it might not be worth the hassle to fix your own Apple Watch.
If your Apple Watch is broken there’s a simple way to tell whether you should fix it before you sell it: compare its price as-is versus its net value after repair.
Price Broken VS Net Value Repaired (Apple Watch price in “good” condition – cost of repair)
In general, you’re better off selling your Apple Watch broken. That’s because repair costs often exceed the value of Apple Watches.
For example, Apple charges $229 to repair a Series 3 Aluminum Sport GPS 42mm Apple Watch. But the Watch is only worth $111, so you’d lose $118. Broken, the Watch is worth $8. It’s not much, but it’s still a $126 net swing versus repair.
Not only that, but a brand-new Series 3 Aluminum Sport GPs 42mm costs $309 – just $80 more than the cost of repair. Factor in Apple’s $6.95 shipping fee and the $8 you can get for your broken Apple Watch, and you’d only pay $65.05 more for a new Watch than you’d pay to have your old Watch repaired.
What about DIY repair? It depends on which part needs fixed. Using our Series 3 example, a replacement screen costs $145, which is $34 more than the value of the Watch.
The DIY route only makes sense if the problem can be fixed with a cheaper part, like a $3 battery cable. Here’s how to compare your options so you can decide whether to fix or sell your Apple Watch.
Find broken Apple Watch values
Use Flipsy to see how much your broken Apple Watch is worth. Here are some examples.| Which Apple Watch do you have? How to identify your Apple Watch |
Find Apple Watch repair costs
Next, see how much it will cost to repair your Apple Watch. For our purposes, we’ll use Apple’s repair service pricing, though it’s possible you can get cheaper repairs from an independent shop.NOTE: If your Apple Watch is still under warranty, you might be able to get it repaired for free. If you have AppleCare+, repairs will cost $69 for all models except Hermes and Edition, which cost $79 to repair. You might also be covered under a carrier insurance policy.
| MODEL | REPAIR COST (all repairs) |
| Series 4 Aluminum | $299 |
| Series 4 Nike+ GPS | $299 |
| Series 4 Aluminum Cellular | $349 |
| Series 4 Nike+ Cellular | $349 |
| Series 4 Steel | $399 |
| Series 4 Hermes | $399 |
| Series 3 Aluminum | $229 |
| Series 3 Nike+ GPS | $229 |
| Series 3 Aluminum Cellular | $289 |
| Series 3 Nike+ Cellular | $289 |
| Series 3 Steel | $329 |
| Series 3 Hermes | $329 |
| Series 3 Edition | $800 |
| Series 2 Aluminum | $229 |
| Series 2 Nike+ | $229 |
| Series 2 Steel | $249 |
| Series 2 Hermes | $249 |
| Series 2 Edition | $800 |
| Series 1 Aluminum | $199 |
| Series 0 Sport | $199 |
| Series 0 Watch | $249 |
| Series 0 Hermes | $249 |
| Series 0 Edition | $2,800 |
If you’d rather try DIY Apple Watch repair, you can find parts on sites like FixEZ. Prices range from $2 to $5 for cases, batteries and various cables up to $36 to $150 for LCD/digitizer screen assemblies.
Research the part you need and plug its price into the equation to see if it’s worth fixing your Apple Watch. Keep in mind you risk causing more damage and voiding any warranties and insurance policies.
Calculate the net value of your Apple Watch after repair
Use Flipsy to find the value of your Apple Watch after repair (“good” condition). Here are some examples.| MODEL | VALUE (good condition) |
| Series 4 Aluminum Cellular 44mm | $241 |
| Series 4 Steel Cellular 44mm | $325 |
| Series 3 Aluminum Sport 42mm | $111 |
| Series 2 Aluminum Sport 42mm | $93 |
| Series 2 Steel 42mm | $126 |
| Series 1 Aluminum Sport 42mm | $42 |
| Series 0 Steel 42mm | $57 |
Now, you can calculate the net value of your Apple Watch after repair, then compare it to its value broken to see which will yield the most money.
| MODEL | VALUE (good condition) | – REPAIR COST | =NET VALUE | VS VALUE BROKEN |
| Series 4 Aluminum Cellular 44mm | $241 | $349 | -$108 | $15 |
| Series 4 Steel Cellular 44mm | $325 | $399 | -$74 | $30 |
| Series 3 Aluminum Sport 42mm | $111 | $289 | -$178 | $8 |
| Series 2 Aluminum Sport 42mm | $93 | $229 | -$136 | $5 |
| Series 2 Steel 42mm | $126 | $249 | -$123 | $15 |
| Series 1 Aluminum Sport 42mm | $42 | $199 | -$157 | $5 |
| Series 0 Steel 42mm | $57 | $249 | -$192 | $5 |
As you can see, you’re better off selling your Apple Watch broken than paying for repair. That said, repair services might be worth it if you want to keep your Apple Watch, and DIY repair can be worthwhile if you only need a cheap part.
Then again, brand-new Apple Watch Series 4 prices begin at $399 – just $50 more than the cost of repair. Given those prices, it might not be worth the hassle to fix your own Apple Watch.
Related Help
Tags: Apple Watch
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