Not built to last?

madmaggie

The gas cooker repair man tells me the same parts keep going in gas and electric cookers. My old cooker lasted 35 years. Anyone else find stuff not lasting?

ballsymchugh

it's planned obsolescence.

ballsymchugh

ballsymchugh wrote: »

it's planned obsolescence.

Summarised quite well here .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voyLPXG-EJc

madmaggie

Thanks for the replies. I worked in a factory for nearly twenty years, basically making the same product, but "new, improved, shinier", but it just did the same job. In these days of renewable and recyclable, surely we need more durability, not less.

washman3

madmaggie wrote: »

The gas cooker repair man tells me the same parts keep going in gas and electric cookers. My old cooker lasted 35 years. Anyone else find stuff not lasting?

35 years ago you probably had to save money for 6-12 months to buy it or maybe even 'rental purchase'.
Today you can go online, buy one and have it delivered the following day for as little as €200.
You get what you pay for, simple as.

Atlantic Dawn

To be honest on a modern cooker if you get 7-10 years you are doing very well.

Atari Jaguar

Exactly yours lasted 35 years. That company made no extra money from you for the last 35. Now if it breaks in 2, you'll pick up a new one and they make more money.

eeguy

Nearly everything is designed to break.
New Apple updates slow down old hardware.

Most electronics are built with the cheapest parts that are almost guaranteed to fail after a number of years.

It always amazes me that a item costing hundreds or thousands is often junked because a component costing a fraction of a cent doesn't work.
Louis Rossman has a great youtube channel fixing broken Apple stuff and explains how planned obsolescence is designed into the products.

brightspark

washman3 wrote: »

35 years ago you probably had to save money for 6-12 months to buy it or maybe even 'rental purchase'.
Today you can go online, buy one and have it delivered the following day for as little as €200.
You get what you pay for, simple as.

This is the reason most goods don't last as long as they used to.

Companies are under pressure to produce cheaper and cheaper goods, hence the quality of the components are lowered, cheaper materials used and machines are designed to be easy to build but with less emphasis on serviceability.

The problem now is there are so many low quality machines if someone was to build a better machine not enough people would buy it. And even a good brand name doesn't mean that you are getting a better machine as brand names are maintained by expensive advertising which has to be incorporated into the selling price.

coylemj

brightspark wrote: »

The problem now is there are so many low quality machines if someone was to build a better machine not enough people would buy it.

Unless you manufacture washing machines and you're called Miele.

It can be done but with washing machines now on sale for as little as €200, it's a difficult position to maintain.

brightspark

coylemj wrote: »

Unless you manufacture washing machines and you're called Miele.

It can be done but with washing machines now on sale for as little as €200, it's a difficult position to maintain.

While the Miele machine will probably last a long time, I wonder if the cost of the brand name means that you pay more than if you buy the cheap machine and just replace it every few years.