Yes more from our disposable society....

[nadinbrzezinski]

so I replaced a coffee machine six months ago. The first one was exchanged after failing within a week. The other one failed TODAY.

After having five coffee makers (price really don't matter) fail in ten years... I've had it. I took out my mom's percolator. I don't like percolated coffee that much, but if that one fails... I have one that will run on my stove. And sadly we will need this kind of consumer strike, general strike, for manufacturers to get it. And it is not one manufacturer... it is all. Things are designed to fail...

[one_voice]

1. I thought I was the only one...

I swear I replace my coffee maker every couple months. This has been going on for about 4 years now. Once or twice was because I broke the pot..other than that..it was the coffee maker malfunctioning. I've bought expensive and I've bought pretty standard inexpensive. Doesn't matter.

I told my son, there was a time you would buy a coffee maker and it would last double digit years...toasters too. Not true anymore, everything is made like shit.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Nope you are not, go to the camping store and

get a stove top one or a french press... I don't know about you, but I am fed up

[Lars39]

2. We use a melitta drip cone, a coffee carafe and a tea pot.

Simple, saves us money and makes a good pot of coffee.

[The Midway Rebel]

3. Get thee a French coffe press.

Or a Bialetti. Most coffee machines do a good job of ruining good coffee beans.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. I would prefer the French Press

but hubby don't like it... and the percolator makes descent coffee. I said descent, not great... I know you understand that

[Luminous Animal]

17. Then let "hubby" deal with his own stupid technology and you use what you like.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Funny, that is a funny, really

we can do the percolator, and when it fails, we can use the stovetop percolator, or espresso machine.

[NJCher]

32. The French press

I had one for awhile and liked it, but it was a pain to clean out because of the narrow cylinder shape.

I'm back to a Melitta drip system. Works fine; easy clean up.

Also, I don't want an extra machine out on my counter all the time.


Cher

[Tallulah]

4. I guess luck rules at my house

Black and Decker coffee maker: 9 years

Black and Decker 4 slice toast/pastry/bagel toaster: 14 years

I have a twenty year old hand mixer that runs well, Sunbeam

I go through a lot of vacuum cleaners.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. The percolator is about 30 years old

I expect it to give us good service for a few decades.

[Lars39]

21. oooh, vacuum cleaners!

We've resigned ourselves to buying what ever is in our pitiful price range ever year or so. Every model built like a cheap toy.:(

[ProdigalJunkMail]

30. we have had a midrange Orek vacuum and it has worked well

for many years (seven, I think). It does get the occasional tune-up, but when you vacuum up as much dog and cat hair as we do...well, you just expect it.


sP

[riderinthestorm]

5. I posted my rant about manual can openers here!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=9739103&mesg_id=9739540

Not even a technologically advanced implement! Infuriating!

[Tallulah]

6. LOL !

I HATE those damn things.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Alas this is part of the problem, things are so cheaply made

that it is literally a problem... we need to make good quality stuff. and we also need to send a message by collectively NOT buying the crap anymore.

[murielm99]

10. I had one fail after a few weeks, and got the store to

replace it.

Then a couple more failed. I went directly to the company and griped.

My husband packaged it up and sent it to the president of the company. He got a check back.

This was a few years ago.

We had trouble with microwaves, too. We did not go after the retailer. We bitched directly to the company, until we got a microwave that did not quit after a few months.

I don't think we are being any more tough on our appliances than anyone else. I hear many people say the same things.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. I think it is time we go on a consumer strike

and refuse to buy the crap... there are alternatives to this crap... either really old appliances, or stove top ones

Microwaves, yep gotten to the point I buy a cheap one and when it fails, that's it. Yes it is convenient, but there is a limit. And they are designed to fail

[Luminous Animal]

11. Get a french press or an italian stove top espresso maker.

I use the espresso maker. Yes, you have to use good finely ground coffee and yes it is strong but you can dilute it with hot milk or water. And, if you find yourself without power following a disaster, it works great over wood flames or coals.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Hubby hates the french press

as to espresso, funny thing my espresso machine I bought over thirty years ago at woolworths is still going strong, When that one fails, yep, getting one of those stove top ones.

[Luminous Animal]

18. Like I said above. Let "hubby" deal with the pitfalls of his choices. Get yourself a french press

and enjoy the coffee and the freedom from crap products.

[Raine]

26. Trouble with most espresso makers is that they are made out of aluminum

I searched store after store all the same. I finally searched the internet and found one made out of stainless steel it was more expensive but much nicer so ... I ordered it. :-)

edit: removed one word.

[Initech]

12. Ha! I bought a motherboard for my computer back in March. It failed. Bought a new one today.

And I had not one, but three consecutive graphics boards fail on me, I finally got a working replacement yesterday after complaining to the company multiple times about it. :argh:

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. You know I might have to start a site

for horror stories... and ideas on how to send a message to these companies.

[eilen]

28. HP All in one 8500A-- died of paper feed problems in 2 years

Called the company-- warranty was only 1 year; ordered new TOL printer replacement at a discount with 3 years warranty, free set of ink cartriges. I put it together following directions diligently, to the letter. Print heads error message before even printing out a freaking test page. Printer heads cost $60. Two of them $120. Why would I buy new printer heads when the brand new ones out of the box don't work? I followed all the troubleshooting offered on their website to no avail, they say "replace printerheads". Fuck that. I boxed the sucker, brought it to OfficeMax (heavy box) and mailed it back and took the time to call HP and bitch out their tech support who suggested this POS. The last HP printer I'll ever buy. No wonder they are in trouble.

[Demonaut]

15. Costco, I walked in with a burnt out juicer (used it to death)

after a year, got my money back and walked out with a brand new unit (which I bought with the refund)
I spend about $4000 a year there and I'm single but their return policy is great


edited for clarity

[provis99]

22. and Costo keeps its customers because of good policies like that.

For the price of a replacing a broken juicer, they ensure you will continue to spend $4000 a year there. How come other business can't figure out keeping long term customers?

[Bennyboy]

23. My VIZIO Flat screen... 3 years and 20 days...

Plugged in an old Sony Trinitron from 25 years ago and no problems.

VIZIO has the worst customer service and the parts alone was 400 dollars...

[pansypoo53219]

24. get a french press.

i actaly have been using my gevalia 1 cup maker for at least 3 yrs. i keep gettig free maker w/ joining. i have yet to BUY a coffee maker. i DO like my 1 cup maker. may have to have my other cat join gevalia. the other cat who got the pot died last year.

[NBachers]

25. I got my best coffee from the crock pot

1. Before bed, grind some beans, put 'em in a glass, and fill it with good water

2. Put the glass in the crock pot

3. Plug it into a timer. Set it to start heating a couple of hours before you wake up

4. When you get up, pour your coffee through a fine-mesh re-usable filter.

Easy, simple, low-tech, and your coffee's ready when you get up; slow-brewed without violence

[REP]

27. My DeLonghi Magnifica espresso machine, used many times daily for 4+ years, works great!

[surrealAmerican]

29. It is well worth checking Consumer Reports before buying ...

... small appliances like these. So many of the models on the market are crappy, and without some sort of objective data, there's no good way to know which are the good ones.

We've had both our coffee maker and our toaster for close to ten years. They were top rated models. There is still some luck involved, though. Sometimes you still end up with a "lemon".

[blindpig]

31. There is a reason...

It is a bandaid for capitalist over production.

[pintobean]

33. You get what you pay for

Our Bunn is 10 years old and works great. The B&D under-the-cabinet we had lasted 10 years. My mom's is about 15 years old and it still works.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

34. Good thing I have my parents' stainless steel percolator.

Like a really tall pot, two parts, you could put it on the stove. Copper bottom.