On 13/05/2011 13:37, TheScullster wrote:
OK somewhat OT this but...

Looking at the previous thread on "Lifetime of a Fridge/Freezer" I just
wondered how much more you would have to pay to get a product that would be
good for ten years minimum.
ISTR Andy Hall being a great advocate of Miele products and his opinion was
held in high esteem by most in this group. Their products used to carry a
ten year guarantee IIRC but now maybe not so.

So, if you bought a washing machine 30 years ago (say) it would likely have
been less sophisticated and probably more rhobustly engineered.

My parents'' first washing machine was a front loading Bendix purchased
in approx 1953, an extremely reliable machine as long as you kept the
gear box topped up with oil.. :-) It lasted for years until the
casing rusted away.
I suppose a key question is "Can you have increased sophistication without a
loss of reliability?". If the answer to this is no, then I guess we are
resigned to repairs/replacement over a shorter life cycle.
But if it is possible to build reliable sophistication, then how much would
it cost to achieve this and to build the entire machine to last 10-15 years
for instance?

Personally I would consider paying 50-75% more for a product that will
definitely last 10 years (hopefully more) instead of 5.
I second that,
which is why I purchased a Miele in the first place, but I was sadly
disappointed. I assume you saw my link
http://www.recommendedbuys.co.uk/hou...fn-8452-sd.htm
in the previous thread, there is a history there.
The aggro of
pricing, arranging delivery and even fitting if it's integrated or whatever
is enough to make me want white goods to last.

But then I'm not that
interested in having the latest "must have"
gadgets.

I'll drink to that

Cheers
Don