Many people question if it’s worth the money to repair a damaged iPhone, so I am here to clear up any misunderstandings that people have when it comes to the value of iPhone repairs. The truth is that it is always wise to repair a broken iPhone, even if you are going to trade it in on a 4th Generation model.
First, some basic facts about how much an iPhone really costs. As many readers know, an iPhone’s true cost is not the price you actually paid for it at the AT&T or the Apple store when you sign a new 2 year contract. The price you paid when you signed a 2-year contract is actually a subsidized price, so what you paid is actually reduced by AT&T since you are agreeing to stick with them for another 2 years. you can only be granted this subsidized price if you are eligible for an upgrade (which is about every 12-20 months). The true retail price of the current 4th Generation iPhone, if you went into an AT&T or an Apple store and did not sign a contract is $600 for a 16gb and $700 for a 32gb. For a 3GS iPhone with 8gb of memory, you will fork out around $500.
Now AT&T does offer something called an “Early Upgrade” with iPhones. this allows the customer to purchase a new iPhone BEFORE their next upgrade date by signing a NEW 2-year contract. For the new 2-year contract you would get a different subsidized price (And yes, special limitations apply). The Early Upgrade prices are also very high. For a 4th Generation iPhone, you will pay $400 for a 16gb iPhone, and $500 for a 32gb iPhone. a 3GS iPhone with 8gb of memory would set you back $300.
The frustrating part for iPhone repair companies is that most people have no clue that their broken phone is actually repairable in almost all cases. Customers who bring their broken devices into an AT&T store looking for a solution are led to believe that they are forced to buy a brand-new iPhone at high prices. of course, this is money in the bank to AT&T and Apple. if your device was lost or stolen, indeed the only way to replace it is to buy a new one. But there is no reason to take that kind of a loss on an iPhone that is merely damaged. Repairing your iPhone is completely worth your money. anything else would be like buying a new car because you get into a minor traffic accident.
In reality, most repairs for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS can be done for less than $100. that means you can save over $200 if you repair your existing iPhone rather than agree to an early upgrade. All repairs for the iPhone 4 are listed under $200, again $200 less than replacing your device at the early upgrade price.