5 ms·
After our hand-me-down Bosch machine from the 1980s gave up the ghost, we decided to get another Bosch, but not because of brand loyalty. I think the mid-level
by llampx 5y ago
After our hand-me-down Bosch machine from the 1980s gave up the ghost, we decided to get another Bosch, but not because of brand loyalty. I think the mid-level machines are the best compromise between high cost brands like Miele and Maytag, and low-cost brands like Gorenje and Beko.
However, as with many things, there has been a lot of consolidation in the space, and many brands are actually owned by holding companies, leading to some unlikely bedfellows. At the same time, planned obsolescence means that the machines are engineered to fail at some point between 2 and 5 years. Long enough to get out of warranty, and long enough that the consumer doesn't feel cheated when the machine fails the day after warranty expires, but not as long as you would expect from technology that has remained unchanged since the 50s except the addition of some sensors and PCBs.
White goods are unique in terms of our expectations for their lifetime, because they are labor-intensive and/or expensive to replace, and a catastrophic failure with a water leak can be very expensive.
I still find it somewhat funny though, that we easily give out between $200-1500 for our phones every couple of years and hem and haw when spending that much for white goods.
- jmrm 5y ago"I think the mid-level machines are the best compromise...": This is totally true. I repair our family appliances and low-level and mid-level ones are pretty easy to work on. High-level ones like Miele products and some Samsung products now usually have diagnostic ports, like OBD-II in cars, and some sensors can't be replaced without reprogramming the main board with a valid diagnostic tool. The only two appliances I had problems with in the last five years were the two European front loading washing machines, a old low-level one who need a 20€ (from the scrapyard) main board every 2-3 years, the other is a high-level one that had two 100€ main boards in less than 8 years. Guess what kind of washing machine will be the next I buy.
- Freak_NL 5y agoMiele's reputation was tarnished this/last year because of their new stance of replacement parts. From now on, only licensed Miele repairmen are able to order spare parts. General repairmen are seeing their Miele parts inventory shrink and will have to stop servicing Miele devices entirely.
- manuelabeledo 5y agoThey may need to rethink their position, as the EU just introduced laws to give consumers the right to repair [1]. Apparently, this also covers professionals not directly associated with manufacturers, i.e. licensed repairmen. [1] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2ddc8907-8b7c-4a5a-807b-2bb5995608cc https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2ddc8907-8b7c...
- x86_64Ubuntu 5y agoI'm not sure if hoarding the replacement parts goes against any of the Right-To-Repair legislation set forth. In your source it even says so ='( "So long as end users are not empowered to access spare parts and necessary manuals, certain manufacturers could be non-responsive to end users and continue to stifle access to repair.[4]"
- Freak_NL 5y agoYeah the timing of this felt really weird on Miele's part, with growing consumer awareness of repairability and durability.
- alliao 5y agoI bought a miele dishwasher in 2013 or so, it ran fine for a while but I got an F24 error and it's a relay part. I took the unit apart as we were in lock down and I didn't expect help to be easily available, and found the relay was in fact no longer a relay but an IC which got damp due to bad installation. I think a proper relay would have taken better abuse rather than the IC part. I sprayed it with MAF cleaner (for cars) and once it dried out it was working again. But I did feel a little uneasy recommending miele to friends and families since. little things I guess. perhaps with chip shortage they'd go back to tried and tested 80s parts?