An electric motor manufacturing demands great demands on the part of the quality control for reliability, safety and prolonged life. Quality electric motors and good electrical performance ensure high-energy efficiency. Although there are regulations allowing only a market of premium category electric motors, there is wide range of low quality motors available for sale. Much of this market comes from refurbished electric motors in a precarious way and without any concern for a final quality of the product. A study conducted by PUC- Rio in 2012 identified the impact on the loss of energy efficiency that these refurbished motors cause. This work seeks to understand the trade-off decision made by the market of electric motors in Rio de Janeiro between refurbishing an old motor or buying a new one, aiming to gather indicative results to do a further research with extended national sample. This work has reached all the objectives, since the new methodology proposed presents consistent results yielding a better understanding of the market of electric motors in Rio de Janeiro.