I have two bike shops nearby. My freehub body was on it’s last leg. And I wanted to repair it and use some new ballbearings. First shop didn’t have them and said the freehubs can’t be repaired. The other one gave me the bearings for free and sent me on my way with a „have fun tinkering“.
I think what they usually mean is “that can’t be repaired in a cost-effective way”… or “I only know how to attach new parts to a bike”…