Is it worth repairing your phone before you sell it?
Almost always no, and the exceptions are smaller and cheaper than the repairs people are tempted by.
The temptation is understandable: fix the obvious thing, get a better price. The arithmetic usually goes the other way, and there is a second trap underneath it.
The arithmetic
For a repair to make sense before selling, it has to cost less than the deduction it removes. Two of the most common repairs almost never clear that bar:
- A screen. An out-of-warranty replacement on a mid-range or flagship phone is one of the more expensive things you can do to it — usually more than the screen deduction on a quote.
- A battery. The same, in a smaller way: the deduction for a worn battery is modest, and an out-of-warranty replacement generally costs more.
You end up spending money to make the phone worth a little more, and rarely enough more to cover it.
The trap underneath
A part fitted outside the manufacturer's network is a non-original part, and that is its own question in the quote. It is not hidden: on an iPhone it appears in Settings → General → About → Parts & Service History regardless of whether it is mentioned, and a rider checks the display's behaviour at the door.
So a local screen repair can move a phone from one deduction (cracked glass) to two (non-original display, plus whatever else the repair introduced). The detail is here.
The exception worth taking
If the phone is still under warranty and the fault is covered, get it repaired. The parts stay original, the fault is gone, and it costs you nothing. How to check the warranty.
What actually helps, for free
- Clean it. Not for the price — the deductions are for damage, not dust — but a clean phone is quicker to check and pleasanter to hand over.
- Charge it. A device that can be powered on at the door is a device that can be checked properly.
- Find the charger, box and bill. Each adds, and finding them costs nothing.
- Answer honestly. A declared fault is priced once. An undeclared one is a conversation on your doorstep.
And if the phone is beyond all that
It still has a price. A phone that does not switch on is bought at its model's minimum, and the pickup is still free. Selling a broken phone.
Get a price for your device
A price in about a minute, free doorstep pickup in a two-hour slot, and paid — cash or bank transfer — before our agent leaves.
Questions people ask
- Should I replace a cracked screen before selling?
- Usually not. An out-of-warranty screen replacement typically costs more than the deduction it removes, and a third-party screen is priced as a non-original part, so you can end up paying to swap one deduction for another.
- Is replacing the battery worth it?
- Rarely. The deduction for a worn battery is smaller than the cost of an out-of-warranty replacement, and a non-official replacement shows up as a non-original part.
- What if the repair is free under warranty?
- Then do it. A manufacturer repair keeps the parts original and removes the fault, and it costs you nothing but time.