This is stupid. Most everything that is made cannot be worked on by anyone. Cars, refrigerators all of them have computers that cannot be fixed. There are no more items for the putterer.
Really? ... The door latch on my electric dryer snapped off, so I went to the Internet, found a guy fixing the excat same Roper dryer, then bought the part and installed it myself. I also swapped out a heating element for another dryer. Many of the parts on these ‘unfixable machines’ are modular, so the things can be assembled bu dummies. Replacing the part is a matter of discovering how the thing was assembled and purchasing the replacement part.
It has been my experience that it is rarely the computer that fails. My car is computerized, yet I have replaced motor mount, battery, wheel bearings, brakes, air filter, oil filter, oil, various lights, tensioner pulley, fuses, fixed the window cranks, etc.
I used to work on the largest air conditioning systems 150 tons and up and I used to do my own car repairs. I was also a maintenance mechanic before I retired and had a strong electrical background in commercial wiring.
Now days if my van or pick up breaks down it goes to the shop. Twice I've had $20 sensors leave me sitting out somewhere and had to get a tow. Sensors that were not there on the older coil and breaker points ignition systems. Unless you have the diagnostic tools and codes troubleshooting anything these days is difficult. Last month a sensor went out on our van. I didn't have days to track it down so it went to the shop because I needed it back ASAP. My pick up is a 95 F-150. Just to change the plugs and wires requires a person to be a contortionist. Used too on the older trucks even with large block V-8 you could sit on the wheel well under the hood. Government mandates changed how vehicles are put together. The days of the shade tree mechanic are all but gone.
As for refrigerators? It's simple economics. Anything beyond a defrost timer or fan motor {things like the compressor} will incur cost close to that of a new refrigerator. On a household refrigerator I would not chance replacing a burnt out compressor because acid is likely in the refrigeration tubing.
I used to enjoy doing my own repairs and still do the repairs I can. But many things such as electronics are simply cheaper to toss and replace. I'm old enough to remember pulling Tubes out of the TV to take to a drug store and test them. It sounds odd to some I guess but drug stores had tube tester and sold tubes. That said as a teen I used to build my own transistor radios from either Heath Kits or Radio Shack kits. I appreciated it more LOL.
You’re correct, but why not have generational poop throwing thread# 12,396,682 on FR...