On Saturday, 19 January 2019 04:13:03 UTC, Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article ,
says...

It's amazing the amount of perfectly good stuff that gets junked just for
the want of a part costing a few pennies. That's the thing these days;
too many people just go and buy another one.

Undoubtedly true, but not all parts do cost just a few pennies. E.g.,
today I saw that one little electronic module for our Maytag dryer sells
for $358 -- and I'm not sure we paid much more than $400 for the whole
appliance about three years ago. I'm glad I don't need one: I just
happened to notice it while looking for something else.




There seems to be 2 problems now.

Many younger people do not know how to repair things. All they do is
play video games and text each other. When I grew up there were many
'toys' that taught things. Crystal radios, erector sets, chemical sets
that could blow up things.

The second is often replacement parts cost way too much.

If taken to a repair place by the time the parts are bought and the cost
of the time of the repairman is added, you can often get a new and
improved modle.

Just like some warrenties, they want about 1/4 the cost of a new item
that is less than $ 100.

OTOH there's an endless stream of chucked out stuff that's worth youngster's time repairing. But few parents have the expertise or time to show them how - or even realise it's doable.


NT