“Speed Queen now makes a very basic washing machine with NO lid lock and NO circuit board. It has the dial and push buttons.”
Yep. That’s the one we have right there and I bought it for those very reasons.
Less crap that WILL eventually fail.
Just like all the fairly useless options on vehicles nowadays.....they go into the “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” category.
This is the reason my “new” car is a 2011 Lexus IS350C.
I bought it last October with 46K miles.
It has the nice features like heated/cooled seats and intermittent wipers that sense the speed they should go. Plus a touch screen to operate all the in cabin stuff.
However, it does not have lane assist. Or any of the CAFE standard things like shutting off the engine when you stop. It also does not have a turbo charged engine.
It is a naturally aspirated V6.
The only new home gadget both my wife and I absolutely love is an Air Fryer. Ours is a Ninja. It is perfect for cooking for two people. We hardly ever turn on our oven anymore. Unless we are cooking for guests.
The other appliances we have that have been very reliable our the 12 year old fridge and dishwasher.
We bought these from Sears when they were still in business about a year after moving into this house.
We have a Kenmore tagged french door fridge. It is a Maytag/Amana/Whirlpool/Kitchen Aid. Meaning, back then they were all made in the same factory in Iowa. They just had different trim levels and a different name on the door.
It does NOT have ice and water through the door. Which, according to my local appliance dealer is the number one repair problem with fridge/freezers. You do not want an ice maker except in the freezer. Where you have to open the door and scoop out the ice by hand.
It does have a filtered water dispenser. On the inside on the left side. You have to open the door the dispense water.
The other appliance that has been bullet proof is the Kitchen Aid dishwasher. It has a Stainless steel interior.
It is quiet. The only issue is the rollers of the bottom rack have broken. I replaced them with Stainless Steel components from the local hardware store.
We only run it a couple times a week.
Just the two of us.
I have two GE electric wall ovens that were there when we moved in 13 years ago. I think they are 1990s vintage. The only repair is I replaced the heater coil element from applianceparts.com. I think it was $19 and took about ten minutes to replace. The bottom oven gets used a couple times a year. Mostly to store pans.
I also have a GE electric glass range top. It is not an induction top. It has heating elements underneath. The biggest one on the front right stopped working. I bought a new element on line for $130. Replaced it. Good as new.
I have a GE microwave/exhaust fan above the range top.
The handle had broken off. I glued it back on with JB Weld epoxy. It is also probably a mid 90s product.