On a minor gripe on designed obsolescence

[nadinbrzezinski]

just as predicted, a three year old coffee maker FAILED this week.

I am tired of this shit. No longer spend more than 25 on replacement though. Oh and this one IS programmable... oooh!

[JuniperLea]

1. I think vacuum cleaners are on the same time line as coffee makers...

And televisions are good for five years or so... unless it's a tiny 13", those things seem to last forever. The bigger the screen, the more often you replace.

I remember a vacuum cleaner my mom had... a Eureka... all metal... that thing lasted 20 years. And the plastic replacement lasted three.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. My 15 year old panasonic is still going strong

:-)

[laundry_queen]

20. My mom still has her Kirby.

It's 30 years old. I love that thing. It literally lifts the carpet from the floor.

[Lindsay]

3. One of my pet aggravations as well.

I am fortunate enough to be old enough to have a lot of older things that still function. The newer stuff, not so much.

It actually made me think the other day when in a store looking at cheaply-made clothes that it may be time to get a loom and weave my own cloth. Okay, maybe that's a little extreme....

[taterguy]

4. If you thought it would fail, why did you buy it in the first place?

[TheManInTheMac]

7. You are too much, taterguy.

:rofl:

[DCKit]

5. The high-ticket items are the worst - refrigerators, microwaves and dishwashers. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Our current microwaved was replaced after the two and a half year old unit

went out spectacularly. I no longer spend a lot on them. They will last the same either way.

[pintobean]

8. Get a Bunn. No bs. a pot of great coffee in 3 minutes

Mine is 8 years old and going strong. No clock, timer or any other unnecessary crap.

[Erose999]

22. My folks make 5 pots per day and they were lucky to get a month out of ordinary machines. They've

had their Bunn home machine for over a year and its going strong. I tried to find them one of the Bunn industrial machines (that plugs into the water line and everything) but they are pretty spendy, even used.

[Erose999]

9. Get one of the metal percolators from the 1950's. Those things last forever and make a mean cup of

brew. They are a pain to clean though, and not as "user friendly" as the "Mr. Coffee" machines but thats the price you pay for quality.

[JackintheGreen]

10. Those make terrible coffee. Gagh! n/t

[Erose999]

13. We have both types where I work and I can't tell the difference. The last cup can be kinda gritty

though.

[jwirr]

11. You made me think about how my mother made coffee. She never

owned a coffee maker. Hers was a metal pitcher with a lid and glass knob on top that had a simple device for the coffee grounds that allowed the water to run up the open stem and over the grounds as it boiled. She had the same one for as long as I remember. Built to last. I was going to say it did not use energy but that wasn't true - one had to let it boil.

[Erose999]

14. Thats called a percolator. There were stovetop versions and electric versions

[jwirr]

19. Yes and they worked just fine.

[NeedleCast]

12. We Must Put a Stop to Bullying By Minor Electronic Devices

[Brickbat]

15. If you don't pay more than $25 on a replacement, it'll happen all over again. Do some research, be

willing to drop a little cash money for quality, and buy stuff that isn't made in China. Makes all the difference in the world.

[SoCalDem]

16. You should be impressed that you GOT 3 years from one

I have had them fail in a few months:rofl:

By contrast an ancient West Bend Poly-Perk that I got free from the bank I worked for, is still going strong after 41 years :rofl:...avocado green, of course:)

[Swede]

17. I think home entertainment is the worst culprit.

They want you to buy new shit,rather than fix it.

[Erose999]

18. Also, theres the French Press. Great for camping

[Spider Jerusalem]

21. Get a Krups, middle or upper end of the range, not the low end.

You get what you pay for, and spending a bit more saves money in the long run because you don't have to replace as often.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. No, not really

we got for our wedding an upper end Krupps, which also failed in three years

[laundry_queen]

23. It's so hit or miss

I had a bread maker (got it free with gold points) fail on the second loaf I made. I shipped it to the manufacturer since the points reward place wouldn't take it back, and I freaked out on them. I got a replacement, although weirdly, it was the exact same model with a different brand name on it. 10 years later, I still have it, make bread weekly. LOL.

The exact same thing happened with an epilator. I used it for a bit and it died. So, thankfully it was bought at a place that had an indefinite exchange policy, I got a brand new one. It's been 4 years an no further problems.

The things me and my family have had the worst luck with are appliances. Several that were under 5 years old just up and died. My parents had their oven and microwave die within a month of each other (bought at the same time, same brand), just a few months after the warranty was done. Talk about frustrating! And to fix them was only $100 less than buying a whole brand new set. So they bought a new set, and made sure it was NOT that same brand as before. Planned obsolescence has to be the most devious crap manufacturers have ever come up with.