About ten years ago, Diane and I bought a Breville Oven. It’s a handy unit that sits on our counter and is perfect for quick cooking. Instead of using our big Frigidaire oven, the Breville makes sense for baking pizza logs (15 minutes), chicken patties (15 minutes), and various veggies (usually 5-8 minutes).
But the other day, when Diane turned the Breville on, there was a loud grinding sound. Diane immediately turned it off and unplugged it. So I do what I usually do when an appliance fails: I ordered a replacement Breville from AMAZON. AMAZON set me an email that the new Breville would be delivered the next day. It was.
When I was telling my Pool friends about the Breville problem, Mark the Electrician asked, “Can I take a look at it?” I said, “Sure, it’s yours. We ordered a replacement already.” Mark drove over to our house and picked up the dysfunctional Breville. “I’ll take it apart and check it out,” Mark promised. We’ll see if Mark can fix it…and enjoy it as much as we did. Have you had an appliance problems lately?
Not recently. You and Jackie have the same solution to problems – order a new one from Amazon!
Enjoy.
Jeff, Jackie has the Right Idea! AMAZON seldom lets you down!
FYI Ron Charles, the ex book reviewer from the Washington Post has a very good substack now. We did just replace an appliance. He said all kindles before 2012 will no longer work – that os, you can read whatis already on there, but won’tbeabletoadd new books. . Ours was almost that old, so we ordered two new ones. The new ones have as much light as the Kindle paperwhites, so we saved lots of money. Instead of $159 , we paid $109. Next day delivery of course.
Jackie
Jackie, we’ve had similar problems with our iPad and iMac. The OS gets updated…but won’t work with our devices. This year–after over 20 years of use–TURBOTAX wouldn’t install on my iMac. Diane has been lobbying to have an accounting firm do our taxes so this year she got her wish.
2012
All appliances are running smoothly right now, but our major ones (refrigerator, dishwasher, washer & dryer) are all on the wrong side of seven years old, so I’m anticipating (and saving for) the day one or more of them gives up the ghost.
Deb, our appliance Fix-it Guy told us companies design their appliances to last only 7-9 years. Planned obsolesce…
Hey Deb, our refrigerator lasted more than THIRTY years before we finally replaced it last year. They don’t make them like they did in the old days.
And stay off my lawn!
Jeff, designing appliances to “wear out” within a certain time period is Wrong…but that’s the way our world works today.
Modern appliances seem to have a built-in lifespan of about a decade. The washer and dryer my parents bought the year I was born lasted until several years after I left for college. I read an article online a few weeks back about homegrown start-up companies that have been trying to address this issue by designing and building appliances that would last for decades and be easily and relatively affordable to repair. The problem is banks and investors won’t give them any money specifically because companies whose products don’t have a planned obsolescence aren’t seen as profitable enough.
Byron, Diane’s Maytag washer lasted 40 years! And it was still working when we switched to a Speed Queen during the Pandemic. Sadly, we live in a disposable society…
I did until I sold the house and rented. Now it’s someone else’s problem although the rent I pay doesn’t even it out.
Patti, renting and owning both have their own set of Problems.
I also have an old refrigerator, stacked washer dryer. Stove and garage freezer. I’m going to be busy in the next year or so with replacing them. But what I’m really excited about is a new toilet with a bidet
Maggie, we’re having some plumbing done next week. Pricy…
It’s been 20 years since we moved into this house and we’ve replaced all of the appliances except the fridge.
It’s one of those that dispenses water and makes ice. There was a leak about 5 years ago. I called the plumber; he came out to look at it and told me the filter was clogged.
I ordered a new one from Amazon. It was installed and all is well.
Beth, what would we do without AMAZON?
I won’t recommend a Miele dishwasher. My sister and sister-in-law bought an all-Miele kitchen while remodeling their second house, since they were happy with Miele equipment they’d bought, and we were happy with our Miele vacuum cleaners, so we plunged in…and both dishwashers were inoperable in less than a year. (For that matter, or Miele vacs are in need of some repair, but at least they are over twenty years old)
Since I do the majority of the dishwashing, my frequent use of the sprayer in the (too shallow) kitchen sink has led to it needing a replacement, as the hose has sprung a leak. I might be able to get a pitch together.
Todd, CONSUMER REPORTS ranks BOSCH the top dishwasher. So that’s what we bought. I can’t believe how quiet the Bosch is!
Our former desktop Mac lasted 12 years before it reached the point where it would no longer process software updates and security was compromised. I doubt the current Mac will last that long. Our Dell laptop sat unused for two years and didn’t power up properly when I pulled it out last week. Our tech son in law said it wouldn’t be worth trying to fix. But our Corolla is still running well after 18 years and 180,000 miles.
Fred, when appliances, computers, and cars run after their “expiration date” it’s always a surprise. We gifted our 2014 Nissan Altima to Katie six years ago (it had 26,000 miles then) and now Katie reports it has 160,000 miles. We’re about to gift her Diane’s 2019 Nissan Altima (27,000 miles) this summer. Diane wants a compact SUV instead of a sedan.
I’ve recently replaced the microwave oven, the vacuum cleaner, and the washing machine’s control panel!
Bob, your appliances are proof of Planned Obsolesce!