Posted on 02/21/2024 8:21:39 AM PST by ChicagoConservative27
Between 2013 and 2023, Americans’ spending on home appliances jumped 53 percent. Adjusted for inflation, that’s an annual increase of $390 to $558. But the cost of appliances decreased by 12 percent during that same time.
How is that possible?
Well, as the Wall Street Journal explains, one “reason for the discrepancy between [higher] spending and [lower] prices is a higher rate of replacement[.]”
Over a mere two years, “Yelp users … requested 58% more quotes from thousands of appliance repair businesses last month than they did in January 2022.”
“We’re making things more complicated, they’re harder to fix and more expensive to fix,” one expert in appliance repair told the Journal. This means that when “a complicated machine fails, technicians say they have a much harder time figuring out what went wrong.” And when the problem is finally diagnosed, “consumers are often left with repairs that exceed half the cost of replacement, rendering the machine totaled. ”
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Ha! The early Maytag Neptune washer was horrible. My clothes always smelled like mildew. It was disgusting. Started less than three weeks after the warranty expired. Repairman kept my washer for a month, could not get the part(s) to repair. Finally, I contacted Maytag, & negotiated a salvage payout for the useless washer. Two weeks later, learned about a class action lawsuit against those early Neptunes. Maytag had already paid me $50 more than the lawsuit settlement.
My Amanda Fridge is at least 30 years old. Only had a defroster component go out about 12 years ago and it was a $100 repair. Been problem free otherwise.
Bought full set of Whirlpool appliances in 2018. Dishwasher stopped working a year ago. The brackets and rack wheels began falling off immediately.
The refrigerator ice maker stopped working 1.5 years in. Repair guy said it was caused by a known defect with the main cable harness which would need to be replaced. The labor would be $450 he cheerfully said. Oh, and the freezer ices up like a 1950s freezer so that has to be defrosted monthly. Pieces and parts still falling off the stove and the fridge.
NEVER EVER BUY WHIRLPOOL
The old Maytags were wonderful. We still have an about 35/36-year-old washer that my husband has been able to keep running with just belt replacement. We did replace the dryer, but I think that occurred before husband discovered he could fix most anything with help from a youtube video and universal replacement parts.
My basement Whirlpool fridge/freezer combo is what my parents (both deceased) bought in 1973. I replaced the compressor starter capacitor about 20 years ago for $20 and changed the light bulb for a LED version. They don’t make them like they used to.
So it's like any other insurance.
Have a basic Kenmore washer for 25+ years.
paid about $300 for it.
Still works well.
Replaced the door/cover turn off switch once.
Two screws and done.
But somebody decided she wanted a fancy new HE Washer-
So, new $1,000 washer is delivered.
Doesn’t clean clothes very well.
Fancy, complicated electronic dashboard.
Just waiting for it to crap out.
Old washer is still here.
Cleaned it up, some fresh grease, new rubber clutch dogs, new hose set.
Having a friend print up a yuuuuge Mug Shot sticker for it.
It will be there, ready to save the day.
Just like our PDJT, The GOAT.
I know of a kenmore washer(Whirlpool) that is over 40 years old and still going.
Wow, now that is customer service! A free washer / dryer. Did you learn to live with the wrong color?
We got ripped off by Fubo TV. My wife prepaid an annual subscription but got it specifically to watch a particular basketball game. Then she found out on game day the game was blacked out. She immediately called for a refund. They replied “Nope, we have your money. Too bad.” I followed up and demanded escalation. Again they replied “Screw you, we have your money. Too bad.” I checked out the executive staff. 100% of them are Indian or Southeast Asian. I need to find some addresses and write to exec staff and demand a refund.
What a difference in customer satisfaction stories!
I’ve heard those complaints about the Neptunes, but we’ve never noticed any musty or mildewy smell. Maybe we have a Gen 2 machine. A repairman says those old Neptunes were designed well and hardly ever fail.
In keeping with the times I retrofitted the Whirlpool wash-o-matic in our daycare laundry room with a black agitator.
Interesting — we got the in-door ice maker replaced twice under warranty. That’s the main failure we’ve had on all of our appliances.
By far, the biggest failure we have is Comcast Internet service. It’s not an appliance problem, but our security system uses Comcast to communicate with the central station and we get alerts all the time on Comcast internet failure. Often it will go out three times during a night and often two, three and even four times a week. They changed out one “squirrel-chew” on an outside wire and replaced one connector on the house with a “pull back” of inner insulation, but those things didn’t help.
These POS appliances are like gas grills that are now considered disposable. It’s funny how gas grills are fully intact except the burners disintegrate. You can rebuild the grill with the same crappy burners for about a hundo.
We had Comcast for a few years. Didn’t like it. Verizon was much better.
In the late 90s a post ww2 Firestone refrig was still operating in our summer place. For all I know it is still functioning—but I can vouch for at least 50 years. Too bad as the tires were not noted for that longevity.
My elderly mom bought an expensive refrigerator from BB some years ago. The ice maker bit the dust several times and after several warranty visits it was declared it couldn’t be fixed. She got a new refrigerator that was listed a thousand dollars less and they gave her in store coupon for the compensation. My mom was computer illiterate and I told her to ditch the land line and buy an iPhone. She took my advice and after a month or so she ditched the LL. That said, the newer refrigerator is a spy machine...
My parents bought all new appliances when they built a house in 1972. Forty years later, when my mother died in 2012, she still had most of them (the refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, and washing machine, the dryer had to be replaced after 25 years). I tried to get her new appliances over the years but she refused because hers worked fine.
I wish I had kept them because I have to replace new appliances every five years or so. Our current appliances all have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Why do they need Wi-Fi? I would prefer appliances that simply work and don’t break.
“It’s funny how gas grills are fully intact except the burners disintegrate.”
Never had burners replaced. Mine is 12 years old.
I’m using a Speed Queen dryer my mother bought new back in 1975.
Still works great.
Bookmark
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.