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It's not only Soviet built things would last longer. US washing machines, refrigerators made in 50-60s also last forever. The ones you buy now, the way the are

It's not only Soviet built things would last longer. US washing machines, refrigerators made in 50-60s also last forever. The ones you buy now, the way the are made and painted will rust in couple of years and will be thrown to garbage in 5 years. And no, it's not because it's cheap to buy a new one, they are just simply bad.

pilsetnieks 9y ago
You can actually buy decently made appliances nowadays, it's just that the majority of people don't want to spend that much money. A $300 washing machine in the 50s was much better than a current washing machine at the same price but that amount of money in the fifties is $3000 now. A $3000 modern washing machine would probably blow the 50s one out of the water.
- TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
  Unless you buy insane super-appliances, long-lasting appliances typically cost 2-3 times the consumer average. I bought a Miele washing machine in 1996, and it's still being used today. It was about twice the price of machines that I'd had to before that never seemed to last more than a few years.
hexane360 9y ago
It's cheap to buy a new one for the features. It'd definitely be cheaper to buy a washer with 2010s construction and 1950s feature set, but that's not what consumers (or environmental regulators) want. Likewise, a modern washer with 1950s construction would be outrageously expensive, not to mention material and energy inefficient. (Keep in mind that the operating cost of an appliance is a significant fraction of its total cost) I'd also like to see a good data set of real prices of appliances over time. Edit: Here's some examples of 1950s appliances: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html Washer + Dryer in 1953: $494.90 Average monthly wage in 1953: $ 3,139.44 [0] Average monthly wage in 2013: $44,888.16 So a 1953 washer+dryer cost the same amount of labor as a $7076 washer+dryer today. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnin...
- userbinator 9y ago
  I'm pretty sure those "average monthly wage"s are not exactly per-person. The average person in US certainly did not make >$500k/year in 2013.
  - enkid 9y ago
    I think he meant average yearly wage.
    - hexane360 9y ago
      Yep, that's correct. Doesn't change the math though.

pilsetnieks 9y ago

You can actually buy decently made appliances nowadays, it's just that the majority of people don't want to spend that much money. A $300 washing machine in the 50s was much better than a current washing machine at the same price but that amount of money in the fifties is $3000 now. A $3000 modern washing machine would probably blow the 50s one out of the water.

TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
Unless you buy insane super-appliances, long-lasting appliances typically cost 2-3 times the consumer average. I bought a Miele washing machine in 1996, and it's still being used today. It was about twice the price of machines that I'd had to before that never seemed to last more than a few years.

hexane360 9y ago

It's cheap to buy a new one for the features. It'd definitely be cheaper to buy a washer with 2010s construction and 1950s feature set, but that's not what consumers (or environmental regulators) want. Likewise, a modern washer with 1950s construction would be outrageously expensive, not to mention material and energy inefficient. (Keep in mind that the operating cost of an appliance is a significant fraction of its total cost) I'd also like to see a good data set of real prices of appliances over time. Edit: Here's some examples of 1950s appliances: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html Washer + Dryer in 1953: $494.90 Average monthly wage in 1953: $ 3,139.44 [0] Average monthly wage in 2013: $44,888.16 So a 1953 washer+dryer cost the same amount of labor as a $7076 washer+dryer today. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnin...

userbinator 9y ago
I'm pretty sure those "average monthly wage"s are not exactly per-person. The average person in US certainly did not make >$500k/year in 2013.
- enkid 9y ago
  I think he meant average yearly wage.
  - hexane360 9y ago
    Yep, that's correct. Doesn't change the math though.