Appliance Buying Rant

The bottom line is that the conglomerate manufacturers have decided what goods are durable, expendable, or consumable. It is more profitable to sell consumables, duh- that's why the razor handle is "free" and you buy the replacement blades every week. The stupid razor handle is never gonna break, so what's the point in even selling it- give it away, and make the customer buy our blades.

The market used to be consumer-driven, particularly during the postwar boom. Now, everybody's son got an MBA, and the manufacturer rules the roost. Let the distributors and retailers duke out the scraps in the profit margin. Better yet, let the consumer think he's in control by giving him all these choices from a wide selection of lipsticked pigs! Shopped a new car lately?
 
Our appliances are all 25yrs old, or older except for the dishwasher which I got off of Craigs list for $50. It's a Kitchen Aid, with stainless tub, and virtually silent when running. I see free/very cheap, clean appliances on FBM/craigs list all the time, and always have a few spares on hand for my rentals.The older stuff is so much better built, and easy to service. Doubt I will ever be buying new appliances. Mike
 
pontiac428 said:
The bottom line is that the conglomerate manufacturers have decided what goods are durable, expendable, or consumable.
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While I agree there is always this unseen complexity that I seem to stumble onto. I’ve not actually seen it yet but I suspect the real drive behind these conglomerates is private equity firms. What I think of as corporate raiders, and what they call a factory for billionaires.

I just started listening to the freak o nomics podcast and the one I listened to the other day (while walking my dog) was how private equity has been buying up veterinary hospitals and practices. This has all been driven by the absolute explosion in pet ownership since Covid. I see it locally in my county pound and SPCA. Where they were packed to the gills w/50+ pre Covid, post Covid there was often 2-3 dogs. And getting into the vet had become a week or two wait.

So the podcast was looking into it and it depending on if you were an investor type or a more liberal viewpoint like me, it was an investor pigwallow or for me the explanation why my vet visits have tripled in cost.

I used to work for a company that was bought out and it is complex. Bottom line being subject to mba’s that are just interested in maximizing profit for the investors it’s just the express elevator to a cluster IMHO. And depending on your criteria I think we have all experienced the degradation in true quality.
 
EricB said:
Ah, appliance roulette! Rebuilt my washing machine about two years ago. We've had it for 22 years from new. Hope to get quite a few more years out of it. Got the drier used about 23 years ago. They don't make stuff to last anymore. What's this "dishwasher" thing?
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I don't know about now, but they were handy having around; and cute.
Not some ______________ with a knot in hair, same as trashbag on the curb.

About corporate takeovers buyouts in general and others mentioned thus far, no matter what WE see, hear or analyze, they are steps ahead and well organized.
It won't turn out well.
 
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great white said:
With “modern“ appliances, expect a 5 year lifespan, tops.

Its a result of 50% cheap components and 50% “planned obsolescence”.

If you get more than 5 years without trouble, consider yourself lucky.

Heck, I’ve got a samsung induction top stove that was about 3 months out of warranty and I had to replace the main board. Seems they used the cheapest switching relays they could find and after a year and a bit of switching on/off to control the oven, the contacts welded together and fried the whole board. 300 bucks later, I had it fixed. But a year and a bit from a $3000+ stove? Unacceptable.

The days of things like a fridge or stove lasting 20-30 years are gone….
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I agree, I think too many big corporations have planned obsolescence down to science. We had a Carrier furnace one day after the warranty period the GE motor fails. Yet there are countless old generation GE motors some 50 years old still working. Need to maximize those profits.
 
RJSakowski said:
You guys are scaring me! Our appliances are approaching 20 years. :concerned:
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What I’m afraid of is one crucial cheap electronic part that is no longer made will take out the whole appliance. The tech who fixed my fridge was afraid on my 10yrld Maytag that it was a part like that. Luckily I dodged that bullet, this time. Now it a race between how much longer the fridge will go and when the tech will retire as he was no spring chicken.
 
C-Bag said:
What I’m afraid of is one crucial cheap electronic part that is no longer made will take out the whole appliance. The tech who fixed my fridge was afraid on my 10yrld Maytag that it was a part like that. Luckily I dodged that bullet, this time. Now it a race between how much longer the fridge will go and when the tech will retire as he was no spring chicken.
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I’m good with controls and PLC programming, so if I have an appliance that is still in good condition but the parts are obsolete, I might just wire around it. When BMW was talking about having paid subscriptions for heated seats and things like that in their cars, my first thought was hard wire a rocker switch and bypass that ridiculous idea. With the push for subscriptions for everything, I’m now wondering if appliance makers will do that. Want the ice maker? Pay us a monthly fee…
 
C-Bag said:
Just when you think you’ve heard it all……the very definition of highway robbery.
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They claim it’s for people who didn’t order heated seats to be able to get that feature at a future date. If you order the car that way, you don’t pay the subscription, at least in the US. The article I read said building all the cars with the most common features and then turning them on if customers wants them is actually a good idea, I object to paying monthly for that since you know at some point there will not be the option to buy outright since there is more money from subscriptions. A lot of software applications are going that way. I’m a photographer and the most popular editing software is subscription based, so if I stop my subscription, I can’t use the software any longer and make any additional edits to my photos that I made previously. I would have to start over with whatever software I switched to.
 
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