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[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I always say this when a question like this comes up:

Find a repair person for what you're looking to buy and ask them which brands and models last the longest and are easiest to get parts for and repair in your country. They are the people that actually know the answer.

Good quality shit still exists, you just need to pay for it, and if you remember the Terry Pratchett boots story, you'll know paying more up front is going to save you money in the long run

[-] yyyesss@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

GNU Terry Pratchett

A man is not dead while his name is still spoken

😭

[-] markovs_gun@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah people don't realize that appliances were a LOT more expensive back then too, especially as a proportion of income. A washer dryer set in 1959 cost $380, at a time when the median household income was only $5,400. That means to buy a washer dryer set, they would have to spend 7% of their pre-tax income. Currently, the cheapest washer dryer set will set you back $1300, and the median household income is $83,000, so it's about 1.5% of the annual household income. If you're willing to pay what people were proportionally willing to pay in 1959, you can still buy a washer dryer set that will last a lifetime. Most people just aren't.

[-] ThirdConsul@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

If you’re willing to pay what people were proportionally willing to pay in 1959, you can still buy a washer dryer set that will last a lifetime

If only that was true. It isn't.

The rest is spot on.

[-] markovs_gun@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

It actually is true. Sure the most expensive Maytag is basically the same as the least expensive one with extra computers on it, but if you look at brands like Speed Queen they're built to last with simple repairable parts. If you haven't been to a Laundromat, you've probably never heard of them, but they are the Queen of laundromat equipment. Why? Because Laundromats lose money when their shit isn't working and they need rugged equipment that will work for a long time and that they're able to do maintenance on. When looking at household goods where it seems like you can't buy good stuff at any price anymore, look at what the pros are using. They will get what they need and someone will be making it for them.

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

It absolutely is. Buy a Speed Queen.

[-] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Not any more. They use Chinese water pumps and Mexican control boards that are $600 to replace.

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Don't just go by the price tag though, because some of the expensive shit is actually cheap but they figured they'd sell more if they give it a premium price (and maybe some chrome-finnished plastic parts to make it look more premium).

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not going by the price tag, I'm going by the fact that Speed Queen is literally the only consumer washing machine brand whose machines you can explicitly use in a commercial setting and it won't void the warranty, per the bond in the back of the manual.

What a Speed Queen washer costs now is roughly what a quality Kenmore or Whirlpool washing machine cost in the 1980s, once you adjust for inflation.

[-] jj4211@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Often times, your only option to cater to that is to go after a product targeted for commercial clients instead of consumer. Washer/Dryer targeted at laundromats. Kitchen equipment for restauraunts. The vendors are dealing with clients that are both more demanding, have the resources to get warranty promises fulfilled, and that have much more experience to quickly recognize a vendor faliing them. You don't need a large business concern's stuff to break in a year to get them buying again, but if their stuff does tend to break in a year or two your company won't be considered for future purchases.

Commercial clients are about the only ones that have a chance of being on equal footing with vendors, the consumer market is so easily snowed by marketing that companies get away with being crap there all the time (worst comes to worst, just pack up your tarnished brand and relaunch with a new, exciting brand, same crap products but consumers will eat it up)

[-] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

you can still buy a washer dryer set that will last a lifetime.

What brand? Because I've researched Speed Queen extensively and that's not the answer. (They now all have Chinese manufactured water pumps with Mexican control boards that use the same components as Samsung.)

I just watched the Ben's Appliances teardown.

[-] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Can you really, though? If you can tell me where those are available now (not just expensive, but proven lifetime quality), I would really like to know.

[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 0 points 2 weeks ago

Th problem with that is most people don’t repair anymore as it’s often cheaper to replace.

And if it’s good quality without breaking down, why would the repair person ever work on it?

[-] djdarren@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

I got my wife's broken 4K monitor repaired for the grand cost of £3.50 a few weeks ago.

They were in the market for replacing it anyway because it's ten years old, but when it wouldn't turn on it that pushed their decision. Kinda pissed me off, because I was going to get it when the replacement arrived. So I figured it was already fucked, so it wouldn't hurt to see if it could be repaired.

My boss at work trained as an electrician in the Army, so we opened it, where he immediately clocked a capacitor that was slightly expanded. A multimeter reading confirmed it, so I ordered a replacement. 8p, but I had to buy a pack of five. Add the postage and it came to £3.50.

The repair took 10 minutes, and now I'm the proud owner of a 28" 4K AOC.

[-] laurelraven@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

This is why I bought Maytag for an appliance... Then 4 years into its 10 "warranty", I learned that it only covers things with pretty much no chance of breaking during that time and the actual functional bits aren't covered, like the water pump (washers don't work too good if the water doesn't go anywhere).

And the repair cost about as much as I paid for it.

Companies buying companies with stellar reputations and then ride that reputation for every cent it's worth into the ground... Gotta love capitalism, right?

[-] hector@lemmy.today 0 points 2 weeks ago

Even the expensiver stuff is garbage now.

[-] Rooster326@programming.dev 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

You have to look in a different direction.

High end residential is more features and bullshit. It's fragile.

You want commercial/industrial like a speed queen. Ugly as shit. No AI. No Wifi. Not even an LCD. Just an analog dial.

[-] markovs_gun@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah my next washer dryer set will be speed queen because I am sick of buying cheaply built computerized shit and it's possible it's the last one I'll ever buy.

this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2026
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