How the Right to Repair movement can save you thousands

You know the signs, your phone starts slowing down, apps take longer to open. The battery that once lasted all day now barely makes it to lunchtime. You notice it, maybe complain about it, and then, almost automatically, you start browsing for a replacement.

A newer model with a faster processor, you spot a “limited-time offer” and before you know it, you’ve spent ₹20,000… maybe ₹50,000… sometimes much more. But in many of these cases, you didn’t need a new device at all, you just needed a repair.

That reflex to replace instead of fix isn’t really your fault. Over the years, you’ve been nudged in that direction. Repairs have often been made inconvenient, overpriced or just opaque enough that buying new feels like the easier choice.That’s exactly why the idea of a “Right to Repair” is gaining momentum. It’s not just about policy or environmental concerns. It’s about giving you back control over your own devices, and your money.

You may have been paying more than you needed to

Think about how most repair decisions usually play out. You walk into a service centre, they inspect your device for a few minutes, disappear into the back, and return with a verdict that sounds both vague, technical and expensive. “Motherboard issue.” “Part not available.” “Better to replace it.”

It’s often presented as a technical inevitability. But in reality, what you’re being offered is just one version of the story and usually the most expensive one. But the same issue that costs ₹6,000 at an authorised centre might cost ₹1,500 at a good independent repair shop. The difference isn’t always about quality. It’s often about access, who controls parts, information, and pricing.

That’s the gap the repair movement is working  to close.

The “Right to Repair” affects your wallet

You might hear the term and assume it’s something distant, like a policy debate that doesn’t really affect your daily life.

But, at its core, the Right to Repair is about making sure you can:

• Access spare parts without unnecessary restrictions
• Find repair manuals or information
• Choose where you get your device fixed
• Avoid being locked into expensive, authorised-only ecosystems

In other words, it’s about making repair normal, affordable, and accessible again.

And while policy changes are still evolving, the reality on the ground is already shifting. You don’t need to wait for a law to pass to start benefiting.

Most devices don’t “die”, they just need attention

What’s interesting is how predictable most tech problems actually are.

A phone that doesn’t last long? That’s usually a battery.
A laptop that feels slow? Often storage or memory.
A washing machine acting up? Typically a small mechanical or electrical issue.

These aren’t catastrophic failures. They’re wear and tear, that you’d expect from anything you use every day. But because electronics feel complex, you’re more likely to assume the worst.

Once you start looking at devices differently, as things that can be maintained rather than replaced, you begin to see how much money you’ve been leaving on the table.

A battery replacement might cost you a couple of thousand rupees. A storage upgrade can completely transform a sluggish laptop. Even appliances that seem “finished” often just need a part swapped out.

And suddenly, that ₹40,000 replacement becomes a ₹2,000 fix.

The real challenge isn’t the repair, it’s knowing where to go

If repair were as simple as ordering food online, more people would do it. The friction lies in the uncertainty. Who do you trust? How do you avoid being overcharged? What if the repair makes things worse?

This is where a little awareness goes a long way. In most Indian cities, there’s a parallel ecosystem of repair that operates quietly but efficiently, clusters of technicians, local markets, and specialists who fix everything from smartphones to refrigerators every single day.

Places like Nehru Place in Delhi or Lamington Road in Mumbai have built reputations over decades. But even beyond these hubs, smaller neighbourhood technicians often have the skills to handle common issues quickly and affordably.

The key difference is that, unlike large service centres, these options require you to be a slightly more informed consumer.

You don’t need technical expertise. Just a willingness to ask a few extra questions, compare a couple of quotes, and resist the first “replace it” recommendation you hear.

A simple way to approach your next repair

When something breaks, it’s easy to default to urgency. You want it fixed immediately, or replaced even faster.

Instead, try slowing the process down just a little and start by understanding the problem. A quick search online can often tell you whether your issue is common and what it typically costs to fix.Then get more than one opinion. Even one additional quote can completely change your perspective on what’s reasonable.

And finally, make the decision based on proportion, not impulse. If a repair costs a small fraction of a replacement, it’s almost always worth trying. That one small shift, from reacting quickly to deciding deliberately is where most of the savings come from.

There’s more to gain than just money

Saving money is the most obvious benefit, but it’s not the only one. When you repair instead of replace, you avoid the entire cycle that comes with buying something new. There’s no data transfer headache, no setting everything up again, no adjusting to a different device.

There’s also a quiet kind of satisfaction in extending the life of something you already own. It feels less wasteful, more intentional and on a larger scale, it matters. India is generating increasing amounts of electronic waste every year. Every repaired device is one less item discarded prematurely.

What’s interesting is how these individual decisions add up. As more people choose repair, the ecosystem improves. Parts become easier to find. Technicians gain more business. Prices become more competitive.

In other words, the more you repair, the better repair becomes, for everyone.

Knowing when to walk away

Of course, not everything is worth fixing.

There are times when repair becomes a temporary solution rather than a smart one. If multiple components are failing, if the device is very old, or if the cost starts creeping close to a replacement, it may make sense to move on. The goal isn’t to repair everything blindly. It’s to avoid replacing things unnecessarily.

The bigger shift 

Consumers are becoming more price conscious. Conversations around sustainability are growing. And slowly, the systems that made repair difficult are being questioned.

This isn’t just about policy or industry change. It’s about behaviour.

Every time you choose to repair instead of replace, you’re pushing back against a system that benefits from constant upgrades. You’re also making a smarter financial decision—one that compounds over time, because it’s not just one device, it’s your phone, your laptop, your home appliances, year after year.

The next time something breaks

Pause, before you open a shopping app, before you compare models, before you convince yourself that an upgrade is overdue, ask a different question – Can this be fixed? You might be surprised by how often the answer is yes, and how much money that answer can save you.

If you have any thoughts on this topic, or any other consumer issues you would like us to cover, feel free to get in touch with us at support@resolver.co.uk

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