"John Gilmer" wrote in message
...


There was an 8 year old stainless steel tub Kitchenaid dishwasher in
the house when we bought it, and it soldiered on for 10 more years.

Did it last 20 years BECAUSE of the SS tub?

The cost savings of the plastic tub are such that when there is excessive
wear and tear on the mechanicals it's cost effective to just get a new
machine rather than repair the old machine.

Often, the better tub goes hand in hand with better mechanicals. While a
$900 machine does not always last twice that of a $450 machine, you do
generally get better performance and more (sometimes useless) features.

The ideal machine would have everything wear out the same day. Right now, I
have a car that runs very well, but after 15 years, other stuff is all going
bad. I just hate to get rid of it with a good drive train, good tires, but
it is not worth repairing all the other stuff. If I spent $1500 for repairs,
it would have a book value of $850.