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It's not bullshit, my parents had the same fridge from when I was born until I graduated from college.

lotsofpulp 3y ago
The claim was not that your parents’ fridge lasted 25 years, it was that appliances in general lasted 25 years. If that was true, manufacturers would have been advertising 25, or least 10, 15, 20 year warranties to win customers. Nobody putting their money where their mouth is is a better signal than anecdotal data.
- potta_coffee 3y ago
  I understand the claim. I know my experience is anecdotal but I think it's common enough that many people can relate. I don't really need empirical evidence for this one. I also think it's common sense that companies go out of business when there's no repeat buyers because their products last a lifetime.
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    >I also think it's common sense that companies go out of business when there's no repeat buyers because their products last a lifetime. I had not considered this, but I guess it would be a deterrent to offering long warranties.
- ticviking 3y ago
  But the claim you called BS wasn't that they had 25 year warranties, just that they last 25 years. As rule my Grandparents had stuff that was out of warranty, but having repairs done was cheaper than replacement. By my parents time things got replaced every 5-10 years.
- sokoloff 3y ago
  My kitchen was remodeled (by the previous owners) in 1993. All of the appliances, except for the dishwasher, have not been replaced by us in 16 years of ownership and I believe they all date back to the 1993 remodel (based on serial numbers and general condition when we bought the place). In that time, I've replaced the dishwasher in 2014, a spring on the door of the dishwasher in 2022, and a heating element in the defrost circuit of the 1993 fridge. That's an oven, a cooktop, a fridge, a trash compactor, and a garbage disposal that all have 30 years of service, with only the dishwasher having failed and two repairs. Their older fridge in the basement is still chugging along as well. That's 5/7 perfect, 1/7 with one minor repair, and 1/7 failed inside of 30 years. My parents built their place in 1999; of the kitchen appliances, only the microwave has been repaired. Their place before that, built in 1974, only the dishwasher replaced between 1974 and 1998 when they moved. My conclusion is that dishwashers sucked and still suck, but that old appliances generally chug along for decades.

The claim was not that your parents’ fridge lasted 25 years, it was that appliances in general lasted 25 years. If that was true, manufacturers would have been advertising 25, or least 10, 15, 20 year warranties to win customers. Nobody putting their money where their mouth is is a better signal than anecdotal data.

potta_coffee 3y ago
I understand the claim. I know my experience is anecdotal but I think it's common enough that many people can relate. I don't really need empirical evidence for this one. I also think it's common sense that companies go out of business when there's no repeat buyers because their products last a lifetime.
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  >I also think it's common sense that companies go out of business when there's no repeat buyers because their products last a lifetime. I had not considered this, but I guess it would be a deterrent to offering long warranties.
ticviking 3y ago
But the claim you called BS wasn't that they had 25 year warranties, just that they last 25 years. As rule my Grandparents had stuff that was out of warranty, but having repairs done was cheaper than replacement. By my parents time things got replaced every 5-10 years.
sokoloff 3y ago
My kitchen was remodeled (by the previous owners) in 1993. All of the appliances, except for the dishwasher, have not been replaced by us in 16 years of ownership and I believe they all date back to the 1993 remodel (based on serial numbers and general condition when we bought the place). In that time, I've replaced the dishwasher in 2014, a spring on the door of the dishwasher in 2022, and a heating element in the defrost circuit of the 1993 fridge. That's an oven, a cooktop, a fridge, a trash compactor, and a garbage disposal that all have 30 years of service, with only the dishwasher having failed and two repairs. Their older fridge in the basement is still chugging along as well. That's 5/7 perfect, 1/7 with one minor repair, and 1/7 failed inside of 30 years. My parents built their place in 1999; of the kitchen appliances, only the microwave has been repaired. Their place before that, built in 1974, only the dishwasher replaced between 1974 and 1998 when they moved. My conclusion is that dishwashers sucked and still suck, but that old appliances generally chug along for decades.