The price of labor has gone up also, and that likely plays a role. To wit: I lived in India for 2 years and my apartment had a window air conditioner that I'm

The price of labor has gone up also, and that likely plays a role. To wit: I lived in India for 2 years and my apartment had a window air conditioner that I'm pretty sure has been on this earth for longer than I have. During those 2 years, my air conditioner broke several times (including one time where it caught on fire). I would have thought at some point the landlord would have replaced it, but he kept sending people out to come to my apartment and repair it. In India, half a dozen house calls to repair something (most definitely not under warranty) were less than the cost of purchasing a new unit. If that happened in America, a single repair visit (parts, labor etc) would have been within striking distance of "oh I'll just go buy a new one" <generalization>India offered a glimpse into a parallel world where capital is expensive and labor is abundant.</ generalization>