[TylerE]

The problem with that is that the current tech can't print anything with material that has any sort of reasonable mechanical properties - the stuff is quite fragile.

[epaik]

That's very true. But for smaller parts or cosmetic parts 3D printers can already be used to print replacements, as evidenced in a recent HN post[1].

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4589528