How long should things last?

[bdhsfz6]

Do people have unrealistic expectations on how long things can last. I know sometimes I do.

I know I do, but sometimes it's a pleasant surprise rather than a disappointment.

When I built my house in 1979, I installed a Weil McLain boiler which, at the time, was highly rated. The plumbing supply house where I bought it said it should last 15 to 20 years. Fast forward to 2025 and it's still working fine after 46 years.

I'm now in the process of replacing it, not because I have to, but for my peace of mind. When it finally does go, it would most certainly be in the middle of winter when I need it most.

 

[MossRoad]

My Apple//e has never crashed…

I still have the original box with packing foam and 2 floppy drives etc…

A collector wanted to buy for a good price for a display and the original box and literature I think was valued more than the computer…

I decided to keep it for my museum…

Three or more of anything is a collection.
Three or more collections is a museum.

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

I don't have unrealistic expectations for how long something should last, so much as I have unrealistic expectations of how much something should cost.

Inflation is an awful thing.

 

[Oaktree]

My Apple//e has never crashed…

I still have the original box with packing foam and 2 floppy drives etc…

A collector wanted to buy for a good price for a display and the original box and literature I think was valued more than the computer…

I decided to keep it for my museum…

No disrespect meant, but do you ever throw anything away? I thought I was bad.
You must need a warehouse to store all this stuff!

 

[ultrarunner]

I clean, repair and sell… had a good side line with obsolete car parts, auto memorabilia, related antiques…

Also machine/manufacture water pump shafts for antique cars from monel and 316 SS and ship all over the world.

Model A, T, Mustang, Camaro, GTO are my focus.

Much is simply come get it…

My brother is a real estate broker and he often needs to get properties cleared to close.

Maybe it’s the wrong direction because tools now are often hard to get rid of…

A couple weeks back I picked up a oxyacetylene welding set with owner tanks and gages.

All I had to do was pick it up same day… the family tried to give it away and no takers.

Stoves and refrigerators sell to renters…

My tenants biggest fear when they call with a broken appliance I fix it…

Growing up I heard so many stories of old cars sent the junk yard because they were old or the farmer had a bonfire for all the old hay wagons…

The Apple//e was the wages I earned working all summer.

 

[ultrarunner]

I don't have unrealistic expectations for how long something should last, so much as I have unrealistic expectations of how much something should cost.

Inflation is an awful thing.

Inflation hit hard August first… almost across the board everything the hospital buys increased 10 to 25%… never seen anything like it.

 

[ultrarunner]

No disrespect meant, but do you ever throw anything away? I thought I was bad.
You must need a warehouse to store all this stuff!

My plan was to be curator of my own tech museum focusing on the automobile through the decades starting with 1900…

It would be a fluid collection, trading and acquiring…

I really like what Jay Leno had done and other similar…

 

[jk96]

My biggest complaint is newer home appliances. We built our home 12 years ago. We are on our 3rd refrigerator. 3rd dryer, 3rd washer. Dishwasher, oven/range, and microwave are still going strong. Current refrigerator is 3 years old and just had it's first repair. I always pay for the extended warranties out to 5 years on major appliances. Most don't last that long.

On the flip side I have a fridge at my shop we bought 22 years ago. Basic but does have water and ice maker and has never had a repair. We also have an older drink fridge that we bought used 10 years ago for our basement. It was 8 years old at the time making it 18 years old now. It has outlasted the 2 new fridges we bought and I expect it will outlast this newest 3 year old one as well.

 

[mjonesnh]

My biggest complaint is newer home appliances. We built our home 12 years ago. We are on our 3rd refrigerator. 3rd dryer, 3rd washer. Dishwasher, oven/range, and microwave are still going strong. Current refrigerator is 3 years old and just had it's first repair. I always pay for the extended warranties out to 5 years on major appliances. Most don't last that long.

On the flip side I have a fridge at my shop we bought 22 years ago. Basic but does have water and ice maker and has never had a repair. We also have an older drink fridge that we bought used 10 years ago for our basement. It was 8 years old at the time making it 18 years old now. It has outlasted the 2 new fridges we bought and I expect it will outlast this newest 3 year old one as well.

Have heard from different people that fridges are short lived now. The one in kitchen is 34 years old. On its 3rd ice maker but no service calls. Dread replacing it when it finally quits.

 

[bigtiller]

Inflation hit hard August first… almost across the board everything the hospital buys increased 10 to 25%… never seen anything like it.

This is just the beginning.

It isn't coming, it's already here.

 

[ultrarunner]

My biggest complaint is newer home appliances. We built our home 12 years ago. We are on our 3rd refrigerator. 3rd dryer, 3rd washer. Dishwasher, oven/range, and microwave are still going strong. Current refrigerator is 3 years old and just had it's first repair. I always pay for the extended warranties out to 5 years on major appliances. Most don't last that long.

On the flip side I have a fridge at my shop we bought 22 years ago. Basic but does have water and ice maker and has never had a repair. We also have an older drink fridge that we bought used 10 years ago for our basement. It was 8 years old at the time making it 18 years old now. It has outlasted the 2 new fridges we bought and I expect it will outlast this newest 3 year old one as well.

I hear this over and over… neighbors did extensive remodel 10 years ago and replaced ancient refrigerator in the color yellow… a beast several men struggled to move.

In 10 years 2 LG and now GE

Wife lived her LG refrigerators until they stopped working…

 

[MossRoad]

My biggest complaint is newer home appliances. We built our home 12 years ago. We are on our 3rd refrigerator. 3rd dryer, 3rd washer. Dishwasher, oven/range, and microwave are still going strong. Current refrigerator is 3 years old and just had it's first repair. I always pay for the extended warranties out to 5 years on major appliances. Most don't last that long.

On the flip side I have a fridge at my shop we bought 22 years ago. Basic but does have water and ice maker and has never had a repair. We also have an older drink fridge that we bought used 10 years ago for our basement. It was 8 years old at the time making it 18 years old now. It has outlasted the 2 new fridges we bought and I expect it will outlast this newest 3 year old one as well.

Yikes! We've been married 40 years and are on our 2nd washer, 3rd dryer, and 2nd refrigerator, and that's only because we left the old ones with the house we sold.

I will say, my employer has some apartments with appliances that are only 3-4 years old and we are calling for service on them more than I expected. The washers, in particular, do NOT like hard water. Neither do the dishwashers. High efficiency means they use less water, but to get any flow, you need high pressure. High pressure requires small orifices. Small orifices get plugged with lime. The end.

 

[jk96]

I hear this over and over… neighbors did extensive remodel 10 years ago and replaced ancient refrigerator in the color yellow… a beast several men struggled to move.

In 10 years 2 LG and now GE

Wife lived her LG refrigerators until they stopped working…

Our second fridge we replaced was LG. Bad compressor. Compressor was still under factory warranty but LG could not get anyone to our place to fix it. It took three no shows on service calls that were scheduled and about 2 months of frustration but I finally got a 100% buy back including the aftermarket warranty purchase from NFM. This was not easily done and took a deep dive into some corporate documents to find the email for the head of sales USA division. The original offer from customer care was a 60% buy back on a 2-year-old refrigerator that was still covered under the compressor warranty. One of the most frustrating things I have ever gone through dealing with a company. Every no show on the service call required a new contact with LG who then referred us back to the same company that no showed as they were the only authorized rep for our area

 

[old and tired]

I would never buy an LG refrigerator, I had bought a GE, 2015, and a GE, 2018, both, no problems so far (1 for a new house at the farm and 2nd was a remodel from house fire in 2018). We actually bought all GE kitchen stuff. Love the dishwasher... never know if it's actually on or not!

 

[bigtiller]

Cheese should last longer.
In my house, an 8 oz. brick of any kind of cheese disappears in as little as 2 days.

 

[2manyrocks]

Get a refrigerator with a lock.

 

[Dftodd]

Get a refrigerator with a lock.

That doesn't work, when the person installing the lock, is also the one inhaling the cheese

 

[rontaki]

I trust Korean electronics, just not anything with moving parts.

 

[ultrarunner]

Our second fridge we replaced was LG. Bad compressor. Compressor was still under factory warranty but LG could not get anyone to our place to fix it. It took three no shows on service calls that were scheduled and about 2 months of frustration but I finally got a 100% buy back including the aftermarket warranty purchase from NFM. This was not easily done and took a deep dive into some corporate documents to find the email for the head of sales USA division. The original offer from customer care was a 60% buy back on a 2-year-old refrigerator that was still covered under the compressor warranty. One of the most frustrating things I have ever gone through dealing with a company. Every no show on the service call required a new contact with LG who then referred us back to the same company that no showed as they were the only authorized rep for our area

I had a newer LG that came with the house with bad compressor… found still under warranty but that doesn’t help when the place is rented.

LG offered to send compressor as available but I would need to arrange installation.

Renters said they will buy their own if $20 knocked off the rent… I said done!

 

[ljjhouser]

We do forget how long we have stuff and are surprised when they quit. But some thing seem to cost a lot compared to the warranty period. Home furnace/ac - HVAC comes to mind. Two years ago my system quit. The replacement system estimate was $12,500. Warrenty was 10 years. That means a person would have to set aside $100 every month (not accounting for inflation) for 10 years. I am always surprised when something expensive retires and I usually wind up asking my wife - "How old is that thing."