The Good Ol' Days: Make Your Household Appliances Last 20 Years Again

Few people remain ignorant of the fact that major household appliances, particularly refrigerators, washers, and dryers no longer have the same life expectancy as they used to. More than simple negligence on the part of the manufacturers, a combination of factors—cost, globalization, consumer demands, essentially everything about the free market economy—have led to the deterioration of quality in household appliances.

Remembering Your Grandma's Fridge
It may not work with your kitchen and its contemporary decorating scheme, but for its lack of stainless steel and shiny finish, your grandma's fridge was also likely to run like an Olympian compared to today's models. Inexpensive models used to run five to10 years; now you're lucky to get two years before they need some type of repair service. Higher-end models that run 20-plus years, now last only 10 years. To find out why appliances don't last as long as they used to, I talked to the independent appliance repair company, The Repair Guy. The owner, Marcelo Fernandez, had worked for a major appliance manufacturer before going into business for himself and has been in the appliance repair industry since 1991.

Who Stopped Caring about Quality First? You or the Manufacturer?
Higher manufacturing costs caused the initial deterioration of quality: They don't make them like they used to because they can't. At least not for anywhere near the same price. Marcelo points out that "the cost of copper and moisture-resistant wiring has increased over the last few years." Manufacturers have replaced more durable porcelain with PVC in many of their appliances. The cost of labor has also played an important role in increased manufacturing costs, forcing many manufacturers to send production overseas, where it becomes harder to control quality. Of course, manufacturers could have simply continued to produce high-quality appliances at higher prices, but consumers continued to gravitate toward bargain prices. In the end, given the cost of manufacturing, chances are we'll never again see the days when you could buy a $400 appliance that lasts 20 years.

What started out as an economic necessity continued into a further decline of quality control when new mandates for energy efficiency became a manufacturing reality. According to Marcelo, Maytag undersized evaporator fans in some of their refrigerators in an attempt to create a more efficient unit. Moreover, this plastic fan costs about $30 with reasonable labor costs of $125. Try to replace this part from the manufacturer, Marcelo explains, and you're likely to be charged $250.

"Frigidaire put refrigerators out on the market that were hastily produced in Mexico," Marcelo continues. "They had a 40 percent failure rate from system leaks." Worse yet, problems of this nature are likely to be irreparable, meaning you'll have to cough up the money for a whole new unit.

Samsung and LG, two of the highest-rated appliances from the standpoint of consumer reports, are also among the biggest offenders when it comes to servicing units that have broken down. Waiting three to four weeks for a replacement part is the norm. Many service repairmen won't even touch certain lines of Samsung appliances because replacement parts are so hard to come by. In the end, nearly every major manufacturer of household appliances fails to live up to the standard of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Like any responsible and trustworthy professional, Marcelo doesn't want you to simply take his word at face value. "Look at talk forums on the Internet. Type in 'Samsung refrigerator forum' and you'll see homeowners talk about all the problems they're having getting their refrigerator fixed."

Consumer Responsibility in a Free Market: Buy New, New Appliances
By the time manufacturers have maintained an eye-catching price tag by cutting corners during manufacturing, you may as well be buying your appliances secondhand. Although manufacturers have bowed to consumer's demands for reasonably priced appliances, they still make units that adhere to the old school philosophy of putting quality and reliability first. Marcelo specifically recommends Whirlpool's Gold Series, KitchenAid, and the Swedish manufacturer, Asko. Of course, you'll also have to pay top dollar for these units. Considering you may be looking at the difference between an appliance lasting two years versus 15 years, no amount of sticker shock should deter you from seeking out quality appliances.

When consumers demand higher-quality and are willing to pay for it, manufacturers follow suit, offering greater options and finding alternate ways to reduce price without sacrificing quality. If consumers had demanded that appliances lasted 20 years when quality first went downhill, there wouldn't be nearly as many substandard appliances on the market. In fact, regardless of brand name, Marcelo says any consumer should look into extended warranty options. (Marcelo says this, despite the fact that extended warranties detract from his client base.)

Show Your Appliances Some Loyalty
As common as it is to talk about life expectancies, most appliances don't die. Although the metaphor seems seamless, it does a great injustice to the reality. One small part that costs as little as ten dollars can render an appliance completely inoperable, but this doesn't mean it's time to discard the appliance. This type of problem is also more and more common with modern appliances. You should always talk to a repairman and get an estimate, before giving up on your appliances. Buy a quality appliance from one of these responsible manufacturers, and even if your refrigerator, washer, or dryer doesn't run like your grandmother's used to, you still have every reason to believe you can get 20 years of service before you need to have the appliance replaced.

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