The B12 (XII) Forum, home of the 'Front Porch, y'all' at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

I remember my parents owned cars and appliances and lawn equipment that lasted forever.   Or maybe I was just a little kid and six years seemed like forever.

All I know is nothing seems to last forever anymore.  It seems like I've bought a new weedeater every year I've been married.

My wife and I put all new appliances in our home when we bought it in 2005.  We've had the stove/oven repaired once, the refrigerator repaired three or four times, we've replaced the microwave twice and dishwasher four times.

After replacing it with new models three times, I looked on Craigslist for the fourth replacement.  I figure why spend $300 or more for a new one when I can get one for $50 that will probably last just as long.

Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that life ain't fair and it's going to suck in some ways.

"engineered to fail" ain't no accident, though... it's robbery.  Yeah, I recall gramma having a 'fridge with one of things atop it looking like a tub of some sort... thing wouldn't die.  same with her clothes washer- swap a belt ever-so-often and it would still be around (except by the time she passed people were color coordinating freakin' wash rooms, and it had no place).  If there weren't so much jacked up shit going on in the world politically and such, "engineered to fail" and "planned obsolescence" would be my #1 gripe... TV's lasting for three years... major appliances for 7... cars getting far greater mileage but critical plastic parts failing @ 5~7 years.... seriously, a plastic intake manifold?

i worked on a particular family of sensors the military uses... they are made in Europe... we received some from across the pond once that didn't pass through the company office in the US, and I fielded them... when one crapped out I pulled the data and noticed several applications aboard them that didn't exist on the ones we got from stateside... the applications were diagnostics- which meant i cold now do what we were paying people $800 each for JUST TO DIAGNOSE... then, I stumbled upon a script that had the devices failing at timed intervals- which correlated to intervals I'd been tracking in my service database... the reason for failing? so I would have to send it to them to collect environmental data... and they'd flip a switch to restore function.. which cost us $800 in 'diagnostics', and another $1k in service fees for performing the 'fix'.... all to make more money.  and we paid it... even though i made them aware. 

"engineered to fail" ain't no accident, though... it's robbery.  Yeah, I recall gramma having a 'fridge with one of things atop it looking like a tub of some sort... thing wouldn't die.  same with her clothes washer- swap a belt ever-so-often and it would still be around (except by the time she passed people were color coordinating freakin' wash rooms, and it had no place).  If there weren't so much jacked up shit going on in the world politically and such, "engineered to fail" and "planned obsolescence" would be my #1 gripe... TV's lasting for three years... major appliances for 7... cars getting far greater mileage but critical plastic parts failing @ 5~7 years.... seriously, a plastic intake manifold?

i worked on a particular family of sensors the military uses... they are made in Europe... we received some from across the pond once that didn't pass through the company office in the US, and I fielded them... when one crapped out I pulled the data and noticed several applications aboard them that didn't exist on the ones we got from stateside... the applications were diagnostics- which meant i cold now do what we were paying people $800 each for JUST TO DIAGNOSE... then, I stumbled upon a script that had the devices failing at timed intervals- which correlated to intervals I'd been tracking in my service database... the reason for failing? so I would have to send it to them to collect environmental data... and they'd flip a switch to restore function.. which cost us $800 in 'diagnostics', and another $1k in service fees for performing the 'fix'.... all to make more money.  and we paid it... even though i made them aware.

I'm completely with you on the first paragraph.
I'm shocked on the second paragraph.  That seems to be near-criminal.  Not all that different from Volkswagen tweaking their sensor levels in their system's firmware to lie about emissions data.

In high school I purchased and drove a 1986 Chrysler Laser XT Turbo that I absolutely loved.  It was black with black leather interior, a tint so dark it'd get you arrested these days, and it was sporty and quick enough.  Chryslers at the time had plenty of quality issues, but my Laser ran beautifully and never had any problems.

Except for one.

You see, the radiator was made of metal edging bonded to a plastic core.  And after just a couple of years, sure enough, that plastic core started cracking away from the metal edges.  

But not to worry, for at the tender young age of seventeen, I had already discovered the magic and majesty of JB Weld.  That crappy radiator would spring a leak, and I'd weld it right back up.  A couple months later, another leak, and more JB Weld to the rescue.  Over the next four years, I'd repaired it so many times I have no doubt that radiator was made up of far more JB Weld than original plastic.  But I'd kept it running, and that's what matters.

Screw you, Chrysler Corp and your planned obsolescence.  I defy you.

My grandma had a Kitchen Aid dishwasher for 47 years.  It just bit the dust last Christmas, with never a faulty day once in my lifetime.  My uncle and I put a new one in for her...it's noiseless, so that's nice, but I count the days until she tells me it's croaked.  

Washers and dryers are the worst.  Those things could easily last generations, but they don't.  

I think I've mentioned this here years ago....a friend of mine from Austin who is a mechanical engineer told me once that the capability exists to make cars that last 35-40 years with only minimal routine maintenance (no major breakdowns), for about the same cost as what they're making now, but that there's not a manufacturer in the world who will touch such a build, for obvious reasons.  

It is one of the more infuriating things about our society.  

Sounds like I really need to get a KitchenAid. Wow!

I currently have a Samsung unit in stainless steel that came with the house I bought two years ago. This model is about a decade old, I believe, and when we moved in it was great because it was better than any DW I've ever had--quiet, cleaned well, and has a "sanitize" function. About 6 months ago, we started getting a blinking error code a few minutes into the cycle. "Over water level" error, the manual said. I could restart the washer on "quick" cycle and it was fine. I got in there and took the spinner arm off, cleaned some stuff out of it, and put it back together. Also, we had some slow drain issues in the sink so snaked that out too. All was good again. For a while. Now I'm seeing the error again, and more frequently. I've been researching online about this model. It's pretty much a 1 or 2-star rating anywhere you look. GREAT!

So, long story short--NOT A FAN of Samsung dishwashers right now.

I'll cosign on KitchenAid--I have a friend who owns one - can't recall what model but she got it 2 years ago and she loves it. No issues, dishes sparkly clean every time. Been eyeballing it every time I see it now, so that may be the way to go.

KitchenAid ain't what it once was fellers.

I went there about 10 years ago, and then about 8 years ago a bought a Bosch. I'm not looking back.

The former is fine for stand mixers and food processors. Not so much for large stuff anymore.