Old ice maker finally gave up after 12 years, customer wanted it rebuilt not replaced

Had a call Tuesday over in Medford, this commercial ice maker from the early 2000s just stopped dropping cubes mid-cycle. Owner said the unit kept humming but nothing came out, so I popped the panel and found the harvest motor gear stripped clean, plastic teeth all over the bottom tray. I could have sold him a new unit for $1,800 but he asked if I could rebuild the old one because it matched his kitchen setup and he hated change. I found a NOS gear kit online for $42 and spent about 3 hours swapping it out, cleaning the evaporator plate and replacing the water inlet valve while I was in there. Thing runs like a champ now but it got me thinking, all these new units are throwaway boards and sealed compressors, nothing has that same rebuildable soul. Anyone else still carrying old parts in their van for machines from the 90s or am I just a hoarder with a torque wrench?

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