The phrase "afford to replace the" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the financial ability or capacity to substitute something with another item or option.
Example: "I cannot afford to replace the old equipment with new models at this time."
Alternatives: "have the means to substitute the" or "can manage to change the."
Mr. Campbell is a millionaire several times over and could easily afford to replace the Sundance -- not to mention its broken or missing parts.
After a wind storm blew out a window, she covered it with a tarp because she could not afford to replace the glass.
It was a simple formula, made utterly addictive and engrossing because of keen strategic concerns: plant too few sunflowers and you couldn't afford to replace the plants as the zombies ate them.
Nine cars in ten have a cracked windscreen, because no one can afford to replace the glass.Sanctions impinge on the lives of all Iraqis every moment of the day.
As the textile industry declined - briefly revived by the demands of the first world war - the company could initially only afford to put in one Lancashire boiler, and could never afford to replace the 500-horsepower tandem compound steam engine.
She could not afford to replace the chairs to her old dining room set after they were destroyed through wear and tear; for two years, Ms. Baez said, after she would serve meals, everyone would scatter to separate bedrooms to eat.
If we could afford to replace those rusty old iron pipes, or convince our landlords to replace them, maybe more of us would drink from the tap.
I had a child I had to clothe and feed, an almost inoperable car I couldn't afford to replace and the unwavering audacity to want a quality of life.
Get a warranty to protect something that you cannot replace easily or cannot afford to replace in the future.
But many people in poor communities like Africatown, which is home to descendants of slaves who were illegally brought to the United States in 1860, cannot afford to replace their roofs without the grant.
Others made more practical contributions -- like a MetroCard and prescription eyeglasses for Tabitha, who had been squinting at blackboards in class because she could not afford to replace glasses broken in the shelter.
