They Used To Last 50 Years

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My $0.02

Having recently ventured into the appliance section of the local big box store after a long hiatus in the appliance world and seen what "WhirledPoo" (love that!) is now offering for washing machines, I have to say I was literally shocked at the obviously cheap quality of the VMW machines. The metal is thin and cheap as is the paint. The useless post thingy on the ineffective looking wash plate was nothing short of pathetic, IMO.

Yes, they were only about $300.00 but what is the average consumer going to get out of these machines, other than headaches? Not having actually used one, I can't speak to their actual performance, but judging strictly by first impressions, I'd say these are truly disposable appliances.
I, for one, would never buy one.

 

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The race to the bottom has to stop somewhere. When someone else can build a superior product that lasts longer, cleans better but costs more, eventually people will come to their senses and spend the money that they NEED to spend.

We've all grown complacent with cheaply built stuff and buy it because it is cheap. What pisses me off is when I spend a considerable amount of money for something and it still is cheaply built.

I have a Sharp Microwave I bought back in 1998 for my bachelors apartment. I remember spending $200 for it and it was refurb unit. It still is in my kitchen happily humming away when it needs to. In comparison, my workplace has replaced the Panasonic Microwave at least three times in the last ten years I've worked there, with another Panasonic unit.

I once walked into a kitchen supply store and looked at a commercial Amana Microwave. $1700 for a 1200 watt unit, the same as my Sharp Microwave. Well, nobody in their right mind would spend $1700 on a Microwave right?

Well, I'd sooner spend that much on one, then have to buy $200 Panasonics every couple of years because the variable inverter units keep burning out. (Heh, I'm still waiting on my Sharp to burn out.. They don't even sell them in Canada anymore, at least, not standalone models anyway.)