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Not so, I bought the cheapest washing machine I could get. I dropped about $1200 cash on a speed queen that'll last me maybe 20 years. Joe 6 pack finances a n
by VLM 9y ago
Not so, I bought the cheapest washing machine I could get. I dropped about $1200 cash on a speed queen that'll last me maybe 20 years. Joe 6 pack finances a new LG every three years at 29.99% credit card interest for $600 and thinks I'm getting ripped off.
Its just like the situation with hiking boots, I can only afford the $250 boots that last many years, I'm not rich enough to afford the $100 boots that only last one year before falling apart. I can't afford to spend $100, I have to spend $250. Richer people than I, can buy themselves the $100 boots.
Also at some big box stores I've seen some masterful post sale salesmanship. New washer hoses cost $19 on the shelf but as part of the installation package they'll prevent your basement from being flooded for only $50 installed by our professionals (usually lower quality hoses too). Installation "only" costs $99 but you need the new hoses for $50 and fuel prices went up a decade ago so we still have our temporary $19.99 fuel surcharge on our deliveries. Oh you want the old washer hauled away, thats only $50 and they totally take care of the problem for you. Technically according to google search you can buy a box containing a LG top loader thats normally $770 for a mere $650, but unless you have time, skills, and a large vehicle that box of machinery won't wash any clothes for $650, add something like $220 worth of installation... Oh and thats 18 months financing but it only has a one year guarantee for parts and labor, which is comical... for a mere $150 you can get a five year guarantee which is about a quarter the lifespan of my speed queen, if and only if you also purchase installation services. Suddenly that "cheap" $650 washer is going to hit the credit card for over a kilobuck and its only going to last five years at best while providing plenty of repair work headaches. So figure twenty years of clothes washing costs $1200 with a speed queen or over $4000 with LG products... I'm not wealthy enough to buy $650 washers I can only afford the $1200 washers.
- rout39574 9y agoThis is Terry Pratchett's "Boots theory of wealth", placed in the mouth of Sam Vimes. Rock on.
- uxp100 9y agoThe cheap washers are not $650, that's still an expensive washer. The cheapest new washers are more like $350. And probably not any less reliable that the $650 washer, just less neat buttons, no glass top. Yeah, probably less reliable than the speed queen. Hoses are quite the racket. Because of where I put the washer, I had to get extra long ones.
- zeveb 9y ago> Yeah, probably less reliable than the speed queen. Sadly, according to an article HN sadly killed[0], the Speed Queen is no longer particularly good: https://thewirecutter.com/blog/speed-queen-washer/ https://thewirecutter.com/blog/speed-queen-washer/ [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16576899 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16576899
- _nalply 9y agoIf you can't estimate the quality of things, buy the cheapest you get. Because nobody hinders someone selling you crap for double the price.
- jamaicahest 9y agoIn this day and age, with trustworthy online review sites like Consumer Reports, I find it is fairly easy to find quality products at a price somewhere in the middle.
- tothepixel 9y agoA+ post.
- hvidgaard 9y agoOr you can buy a Bosch for $400 on sale. One of the not fancy models and it'll last you 10 years easily. It's also serviceable if you need to repair it - not to the degree of a Speed Queen, but totally doable. It's also significantly cheaper to run compared to a Speed Queen. With that in mind you can probably buy 3 of them (including delivery) for the same price of a Speed Queen over a 20 year period.