Too_Many_Tools wrote:

I got one of those for free because the motor controller had failed and
the repair was supposed to cost $400.


The Neputune washer is a typical case of how companies plan for
enforced obscelence.

Make the repair cost so high that you are forced to buy another
appliance.

Their mistake is that many of the problems surfaced during the warranty
period.

Their other mistake was to outsource much of the design to consultants
who took their money and ran leaving the company with a poor design
that was rushed to production.

The CEO and MBAs still got their bonuses as the company sank.

IMHO... the problem with the Neptune (and similarly high-priced
"unique" product lines from other companies) is that as far as I could
tell there was nothing standard about ANY part of it.

I mean, if a knob falls off my stove, I know I can go to the appliance
part store and get a new knob that'll fit (might not be right color
but...). Or if a element fails in the oven. etc.

With the Neptune it seemed to be a design goal to make every part
completely non-generic. And then charge a lot for the whole thing as if
it were some really premium "high-end" appliance. They set the bar
really really high and then guaranteed they'd never live up to it!

Tim.