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LeamNoran t1_iqs1ytf wrote

Reply to comment by throwawayhyperbeam in My mother's ~33 year old Whirlpool dryer. Still works amazing! by vocke

Planned obsolescence. Most modern US appliances fail in the first few years fairly consistently.

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throwawayhyperbeam t1_iqs9f8e wrote

And your contention is that this did not exist back then?

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klein432 t1_iqsemoy wrote

The repair parts for the old machines are way cheaper and easier to repair and diagnose. Modern appliances are very difficult to fix.

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Carvemynameinstone t1_iqsm00i wrote

While that is true, you're also experiencing survivorship bias, only the ones that were built well keep on trucking for that long.

And the repair stuff, yeah mechanical switches are way easier to repair compared to something that's a mini-computer.

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klein432 t1_iqt34g6 wrote

How do you figure? Most things break down eventually and need repair. Older appliances were much more repairable. I have had lots of success repairing older, simpler appliances that did break and need repair.

And contrast that with some horror stories about newer appliances that are near impossible/cost prohibitive to repair. There is a clear winner for reliability and longevity. As long as you are content with older feature sets and technology, its a clear winner. I have had many appliance people tell me this as well.

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Carvemynameinstone t1_iqv2e6t wrote

Isn't that what I said though? Mechanical based appliances are easier to fix.

Survivorship bias means that you have the ones left that still work, a ton of the older appliances are broken which you don't see anymore.

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klein432 t1_iqwfee9 wrote

If anything, the survivorship bias is in the OPPOSITE direction. People are dumping old appliances for some new shiny hotness, only to find out that it failed 4 years later and the repair will cost over half of a new machine.

Historically, appliances WERE repairable. Cars were repairable. That is the bias. The bias is for appliances that have failed and been repaired and still work in spite of a previous minor malfunction. And now, homeowners are all surprised pikachu when then new one doesnt last, and costs a fortune to try and repair or replace.

In my experience, old appliances are disposed of not because of they failed, but because people didnt want them anymore. I do home remodeling and I have pitched so many working appliances because the homeowners didnt like the way they looked, or wanted some programmable function. They worked fine. In fact , I try to make sure they find a new home because pitching old working appliances kills me inside.

I had an avocado green dryer once. I bought used for $50. It was probably 20 years old then. I used it for another 20, and sold it for the same $50 when I couldnt take it with me. Looked like shit. Ran great. I spent $35 on a new belt and rollers when they died. Took me 2 hours to fix. I have thrown out dryers in way better condition because the homeowner didnt want them. Not because of any functional problem.

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LeamNoran t1_iqzkhtf wrote

When is your then?

Have your ever read about appliances ever? Using old appliances that still work here checking in. Not upgrading because everyone I know that has, theirs has died. Some friends can solder their stove back together. Had an old washing machine engineer that had to work at Home Depot because hail capitalism tell me to buy an admiral washing machine and dryer because they were the last of a working generation of functionality.

New ovens die in less than a year. Rental house with a dishwasher a few months old dies. Repair tech saying “keep this old machine because it works.” Look up people still using 1940s fridges today. Appliances in America today are trash.

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