Appliances, TVs etc - are they not as well made as they used to be?

C

Caveat

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Personally, we've been lucky enough I suppose, but I'm always hearing about peoples fridges "packing in after only a few years" , or worse, their €4000+ TVs not lasting much beyond their warranty period.

Is this an inaccurate perception on my part?

I'm sure as recently as 10 -15 years ago for example things like this lasted much longer? I get a feeling that you are regarded as being highly optimistic, even foolish, if you expect to get e.g. more than 5 years out of your washing machine.

Am I just turning into an old man or what?
 
There is an element of built in obsolescence with most new appliances but it is worth remembering that they are much cheaper in real terms than they were 20 years ago.
 
We have our fridge and dishwasher for 10 years now which we got from a cousin who had them for about the same length of time. Both are running perfectly. On the other hand our (new) tumble dryer has packed in after only 5 years.
 
Years ago if your washing machine packed up, it made sense to call the washing machine repair guy to fix it. These days, people are more likely to dump the washing machine and get a new one. Weigh up the costs of getting a repair person out and ending up with an X years old , fixed machine , or just dumping it and having a new machine.

This behaviour of waste is awful for the environment.

(Do TV repair people even exist any more?)
 
Slightly OT - but I think there is often a bigger problem where people throw out perfectly good products because they want the larger TV, etc... Some of this I understand, as in if someone has the money and this is what they chose to spend it on that's absolutely their choice - but seems like we've become very much a throw away society. It's not just TV's, it's hoovers, drills, latest gas barbeque's, etc..

Being the frugal person I am, I keep an eye on Jumbletown/freecycle, etc... and several times I've seen someone had on a perfectly good 32inch TV - what happened to keeping it until it broke (granted sometimes you gave it a helping hand). I still have my 14 inch and it does me fine
 
cole said:
We have our fridge and dishwasher for 10 years now which we got from a cousin who had them for about the same length of time. Both are running perfectly. On the other hand our (new) tumble dryer has packed in after only 5 years.
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Exactly what I'm talking about. We inherited two 8-10 year old appliances which are working perfectly fine - now into their 15th/16th year.

Mother-in-law's washing machine has died after 5 years from new, friend's LCD TV gone after 4, another relative's vacuum cleaner packed in after a few short years...etc

The items even feel and look 'cheaper' to me these days despite the obvious attention to sleekness/lines etc.

Purple is right of course about the actual cost from new being less in real terms today, but if the older units are lasting 3 or 4 times as long....?
 
I definitely think electric kettles these days are of inferior quality - we're lucky if a kettle lasts a year - the last three kettles we bought have all had to be replaced. They have all been under warranty so it was no extra cost on us and all were household brand names so they weren't cheap kettles. Even when getting a replacement kettle at the weekend the shop assistant recommended one saying they have one and it has lasted them two years ... as if this was some sort of great achievement!!
 
leghorn said:
(Do TV repair people even exist any more?)
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I think there's still a shop in Rialto that repairs electrical white goods. Don't know of any other electrical item repair places.

Slightly off-topic but another trade that has fallen victim to some of the issues discussed above is the TV rental business. Who remembers RTV rentals, where you'd rent a telly instead of buying?
 
LDFerguson said:
Slightly off-topic but another trade that has fallen victim to some of the issues discussed above is the TV rental business. Who remembers RTV rentals, where you'd rent a telly instead of buying?
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The relative value of TVs has also gone down. During the dark times, the 80s, a TV was very expensive.
 

My wife and I got a Russell Hobbs kettle from my parents for our engagement - it has now lasted over 6 years without any sign of wear. All I do is occasionally boil malt vinegar in it to get rid of any built up limescale, but I don't think that would have added to its life. It was a fairly expensive kettle when we got it so maybe we paid for the extended lifespan? Its a great kettle, mind!
 
LDFerguson said:
Slightly off-topic but another trade that has fallen victim to some of the issues discussed above is the TV rental business. Who remembers RTV rentals, where you'd rent a telly instead of buying?
Click to expand...

I remember always renting our TV when younger as the cost of the item was so expensive plus you were guaranteed a working telly. Have just bought a new dryer (ours lasted 9 years) and was surprised by the salesman confirming we will be luck yto getmore than 5 years out of any electrical appliance. Miele have a longer quarantee but they were 300-400 dearer than the model we chose so you were paying double for the extra warranty.
 
I bought a cheap multi-regional DVD player last year. It just limped past the year stage and has now started playing up- keeps turning off. My older dvd/video machine has also decided to give up the ghost after three years (it was a reasonably expensive model). i've lost count of the number of kettles my mothers bought over the last few years. Shes kept the receipt and on the last occassion brought it back.

I hate throwing away things - i'm just very consious of landfills but i certainly feel electrical appliances are not built to last anymore. I think deliberately so- how otherwise would the electrical shops stay in business? I'm a bit disappointed now when something that was older and lasted for years breaks down because i just feel the newer models will not last as long. I used to poopoo the extended guarantees but am actually thinking of taking one out the next time i buy anything electrical. I feel however that i shouldn't have to do that- that if a item packs up after a year when it should last many that it should really come under the consumer legislation as not fit for it's purpose.
 
Yes. Exactly what I did when my physically prefect Bosch washing machine, which was just over 2 years old and just out of warranty, developed electronic programming issues (getting stuck for hours on 1 minute left on countdown). Rather than get out a repair guy I just replaced the machine with a new Zanussi; although I would view such as a boost for jobs and the economy rather than a slight on the environment.
 
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