Comments on: Planned obsolescence

By: GenXer

GenXer — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:35:58 +0000

Bought a GE spacemaker washer and dryer in May 2005. The washer kicked the bucket in June 2007 and the motor on the dryer went this week. There are scorch marks on the inside and outside and a new motor would cost around $200. I was a mindless consumer before (back when most of us were using our homes as ATMs) but not anymore. I found a Kenmore 80 series dryer for $25 on Craigslist – it had a few rust spots but I just sanded those out and sprayed a couple of coats of appliance epoxy on it and it looks fine and works great! From now on I will buy used older models. This economy is a wake up call. Time to live by the motto USE IT UP, WEAR IT OUT, MAKE DO OR DO WITHOUT!

By: Planned Obselesence Sucker

Planned Obselesence Sucker — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:28:01 +0000

Sears is trying to gack me for LABOR on a Lifetime Warranty part for my Washing Machine. The only problem is, the entire washing machine has to be disassembled before the Free part can be replaced. Something smells fishy, and I want the world to know.

By: Moments of Fame « Funny about Money

Moments of Fame « Funny about Money — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:23:56 +0000

[...] so failing to prepare for recession as soon as Dubya and his puppetmasters took office. Speaking of planned obsolescence (which I suppose is what the two-term limit amounts to), Funny’s less political comment on [...]

By: copyeditorsdesk

copyeditorsdesk — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:38:04 +0000

I think when you’re using a program like Matlab, you probably do need to keep up-to-date with the hardware–a higher-test machine is good. Also, over time no matter how much disk-cleaning-up and malware-blocking you do, computers do seem to work slower & slower.

Some people say Frigidaire makes a low-end model that works as well as more expensive dishwashers (but is noisier, because it has less insulation). I do have to say that I’ve much appreciated the Bosch’s quiet operation. I felt the Kenmore was as good or better (liked the interior configuration; to get the model that has the racks that don’t chip and end up depositing rust on your dishes, tho’, you spend almost as much as the Bosch. Sears is fast earning a bad rep, though, so I’m inclined to avoid the Kenmore just based on the many complaints about the company’s fading customer service. sigh.

By: !wanda

!wanda — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:03:07 +0000

My experience is that computers don’t go obsolete in 2 years- it’s just that in 2-3 years, the technology actually does improve enough to make a noticeable difference in speed, size, and storage room. It doesn’t matter if all you do is surf the web and use Office, but I regularly run computation-heavy programs like Matlab, and last year when I bought a new laptop I felt a huge difference between the new machine and my 4yr-old laptop.

Cars, washing machines, and refrigerators, though? Not so much. (Although I would expect a new consumer appliance to be more energy-efficient than an older one.)

I wonder if you should just get cheap appliances from now on. How much worse can they be?