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Both have the meanings "repair" and "mend". Are they used interchangeably or each fits in specific places more than the other ? I am really finding a big difficulty knowing to use each.

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If you're not sure, use reparieren -- it's more common than ausbessern.

You would e.g. say: "Max repariert ein Auto", but not "Max bessert ein Auto aus."

In another context: "Max repariert einen Zaun" could be replaced with "Max bessert einen Zaun aus".

I would say, "ausbessern" is more like like filling a hole or like @Pharguin said, improving something.

Edit:

You'll find "ausbessern" more in relation to clothes, while "reparieren" comes up in a rather mechanical context. - However, this is not a universal rule as you can see in the example with the fence (Zaun).

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    The other way round: for clothes, you can use ausbessern ("Ich muss noch Socken ausbessern" (more precise and also more usual would be stopfen or nähen, though), but reparieren only for broken mechanical parts ("den Reißverschluss reparieren")
    – cbeleites
    Commented Feb 21, 2018 at 17:47
  • Is that in any way a contrast to what I said?
    – leun4m
    Commented Feb 21, 2018 at 17:54
  • no, it's just an example for ausbessern, but not reparieren which could complement your examples
    – cbeleites
    Commented Feb 21, 2018 at 18:04
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    To me, "reparieren" implies fixing a broken thing (e.g. by replacing the broken parts) whereas "ausbessern" does not necessarily imply 1. that sth is broken in the first place (i.e. is not working at all) and 2. it sounds rather like a temporary/non-professional "fix" for something. I miss this part in your answer (also see Pharguin's answer below)
    – j3141592653589793238
    Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 16:11
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    I'm not sure, if I completely agree with your 2nd statement. Even a professional might do some "Ausbesserungen" because someone demanded it. I guess you might find "ausbessern" often with a somewhat optical touch to it.
    – leun4m
    Commented Dec 7, 2021 at 16:32
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There are qualitative differences.

  • Ausbessern is less strict, it means something like "revamping", "overhauling", "restoring", "touching up" or perhaps "improving", while
  • Reparieren is stricter, it is fixing something that was broken and/or is not functional anymore, i.e. it really means (fully) restoring the functionality or shape of something.

If a e.g. car doesn't work anymore, you repair it (Reparieren - restore the functionality), while if the body work has dents or scratches, you overhaul the car (Ausbessern). Note that Reparieren generally means to fully repair something, while Ausbessern can also mean to partly restore something, as well as you can.

Again, the difference is mainly qualitative.

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  • While the explanation is very good, I should perhaps clarify that I don’t find “ausbessern” natural when used directly with the word car (Auto). “Ausbessern” fits well in: “Das Loch in der Tapete ausbessern”, “das Dach ausbessern”... I think a main difference between these words is that “reparieren” can be applied to most nouns directly, while “ausbessern” only fits with certain words: Schaden, Loch, Dach, Tapete...
    – Ludi
    Commented Feb 22, 2018 at 11:24
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    @Ludi: I think that if you overhaul the body (Karosserie) of a car, you can talk about "ausbessern".
    – Rudy Velthuis
    Commented Feb 22, 2018 at 19:23
  • Exactly! I just wanted the non native speakers to be aware of collocations.
    – Ludi
    Commented Feb 22, 2018 at 20:16
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Usually "reparieren" is used when fixing something that is broken, i.e. that is not working without the fix at all or at least partially. "Ausbessern" on the other hand is used for describing the process of improving (a part of) something that is already working, but maybe not yet optimally. This is highly subjective, though, and the two can most if not all the time be used interchangeably. Please also note that the Duden lists "reparieren" as a generally more frequently used word, which I can confirm based on my experience.

See http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/reparieren and http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/ausbessern for some examples and other synonyms.

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As already stateted reparieren is more frequently used than ausbessern and there are only minor differences. They depend on

  • how much is broken/how strong the functionality is limited
  • Extent and effect of the fix

Examples:

  • If the thing is completely broken and does not work at all any more

    • Reparieren: At least functional again maybe back to the orignal
    • Ausbessern: In general not possible

  • If the thing is at least partially function or took only some damage:

    • Reparieren: Fully functional again maybe back to the orignal
    • Ausbessern: Functional again, maybe only temporary and not as good as new

  • If there is only a scratch/minor problem with no or only slight impact on the functionality:

    • Ausbessern/Reparieren: Both are possible

  • If there is only a scratch with no or impact on the functionality:

    • Ausbessern: Probably preferable over reparieren

Wiktionary says reparieren is a generic term for ausbessern and translates reparieren to repair and ausbessern to mend.

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Let's have a look into common practice and then derive more general conclusions from it.

1) Cases where reparieren is used well, and ausbessern would be strange or plainly wrong:

Ich muss das Auto zur Reparatur bringen.

Ich muss den Wasserhann reparieren.

Kannst du mal das Deckenlicht reparieren?

Der Hausmeister repariert die Kaffeemaschine.

2) Cases were only ausbessern is good:

Frau Müller bessert ihre Tagesdecke aus. (repariert)

Die Lloyd-Werft soll den Unterwasseranstrich der QR2 ausbessern (reparieren).

Unserer Rad- und Wanderwege sollten ausgebessert werden. (repariert could be used too, but I would find it odd)

Warte, ich muss noch schnell mein Make-up ausbessern (reparieren)

3) Cases where both are possible, depending on context:

Die Straßenmeisterei bessert die Fahrbahndecke aus / repariert die Fahrbahndecke.

Pioniere der Bundeswehr sollen die Landebahn bei Prizren ausbessern/reparieren

Ganz sauber muss der Beton sein, damit später der Mörtel an den Stellen hält, die mit 30 Tonnen Zementspachtel ausgebessert/repariert werden müssen.

Herr Pötschke bessert seinen Gartenzaun aus/repariert seinen Gartenzaun

(Some of these examples were taken from a real-world text corpus of German language.)

My conclusion is: reparieren is for univeral use; ausbessern is predominantly used for improvements of the surface of something.

Notes:

The example with the fence (Zaun) and ausbessern seems a bit strange, but obviously the fence is seen here as a surface whose integrity is being restored by the ausbessern activities.

The example with the cement filler (Zementspachtel) would actually call for ausbessern, as Spachtel clearly refers to repairs being done to a surface. On the other hand, the sheer amount of cement used here (30 metric tonnes) make me accept reparieren as well.

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"Reparieren" means to "repair" something that has experienced a major loss of functionality, perhaps making it equivalent to its original, "new" condition, or nearly so.

"Ausbessern" refers to "improving" something that had a minor loss of functionality, or even no loss at all, and improving it somewhat (from a low base).

"Reparieren" is more commonly used, because it is the more common phenomenon.

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