Example verdicts
Real items, real economics. Here's what a Mend analysis looks like.
KitchenAid KSM150
STAND MIXER
What's wrong
Grinding noise during operation. The worm gear — a nylon drive gear designed to strip before damaging the motor — has worn through. This is the most common KitchenAid failure and one of the easiest to fix.
Clear repair win. The part is cheap, the repair takes under an hour, and the working mixer is worth 20x the fix.
The Math
| Path | Cost | Value | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY Repair | $12 + 0.8hrs | $250 | $238 |
| Pro Repair | $85 | $250 | $165 |
| Sell As-Is | $0 | $60 | $60 |
| Replace (used) | $180 | — | — |
Apple iPhone 12
SMARTPHONE
What's wrong
No power, no charging indicator. Likely a dead logic board — the most expensive component in the phone. Without microsoldering skills and donor boards, this isn't a practical repair.
The repair cost exceeds the phone's working value, but the screen assembly, battery, and rear cameras are all salvageable and worth real money on eBay.
The Math
| Path | Cost | Value | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY Repair | $140 + 3.0hrs | $165 | $25 |
| Pro Repair | $200 | $165 | -$35 |
| Sell As-Is | $0 | $45 | $45 |
| Replace (used) | $150 | — | — |
Generic Office Chair
FURNITURE
What's wrong
Cracked five-star base — a safety hazard that makes the chair unusable. This is a generic mid-range office chair without a specific brand or model number, so replacement parts are not readily available from the manufacturer.
Universal replacement bases exist (~$30) but often don't match the gas cylinder diameter or bolt pattern of no-name chairs. A comparable new chair is $80. Not worth the gamble.
The Math
| Path | Cost | Value | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY Repair | $30 + 1.0hrs | $40 | $10 |
| Pro Repair | $75 | $40 | -$35 |
| Sell As-Is | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Replace (used) | $80 | — | — |
Vintage Tube Amplifier
AUDIO EQUIPMENT
What's wrong
Intermittent sound — audio cuts in and out, sometimes with a crackling noise. In tube amps, this symptom has wildly different root causes: it could be a $2 electrolytic capacitor drying out, a $15 tube going microphonic, a $40 output transformer developing shorts, or a cold solder joint that costs nothing but time to fix.
Without hands-on diagnosis (tube tester, multimeter on the filter caps, reflow of solder joints), the cost range is too wide to give a confident verdict. A tech can narrow this down in 15 minutes.
The Math
| Path | Cost | Value | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY Repair | $2 – $200 | $350 | $150 – $348 |
| Pro Repair | $75 – $300 | $350 | $50 – $275 |
| Sell As-Is | $0 | $120 | $120 |
| Replace (used) | $300 | — | — |