From: "N Cook"
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking misc.consumers.frugal-living sci.electronics.repair alt.home.repair misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Planned Obselescence....A Good Thing?
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 16:16:39 -0000
Too_Many_Tools wrote in message
news:1168795859.447722.255770@38g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> In my opinon...no.
>
> I intentionally try to have older appliances, vehicles, machines to
> lower repair costs and keep overall ownership cost to a minimum.
>
> Your thoughts?
>
> TMT
>
> Irreparable damageBy Bryce Baschuk
> THE WASHINGTON TIMES
> January 9, 2007
> Bill Jones, after 42 years, is finally closing the Procter Appliance
> Service shop in Silver Spring.
> "You can't make a good salary to survive on the way you could years
> ago," said the 61-year-old owner of the oven, refrigerator and
> washer-dryer repair shop. "Everything has changed in the appliance
> business."
> Mr. Jones recently sold his home in Laurel and is in the process of
> moving to Bluffton, S.C., with his wife, Jeannette.
> Mr. Jones is one of the many Washington-area repairmen who have
> struggled to stay afloat as residents replace, not repair, old
> appliances.
> "It's a dying trade," said Scott Brown, Webmaster of
> www.fixitnow.com and self-proclaimed "Samurai Appliance Repairman."
> The reason for this is twofold, Mr. Brown said: The cost of
> appliances is coming down because of cheap overseas labor and improved
> manufacturing techniques, and repairmen are literally dying off.
> The average age of appliance technicians is 42, and there are few
> young repairmen to take their place, said Mr. Brown, 47. He has been
> repairing appliances in New Hampshire for the past 13 years.
> In the next seven years, the number of veteran appliance repairmen
> will decrease nationwide as current workers retire or transfer to other
> occupations, the Department of Labor said in its 2007 Occupational
> Outlook Handbook.
> The federal agency said many prospective repairmen prefer work that
> is less strenuous and want more comfortable working conditions.
> Local repairmen said it is simply a question of economics.
> "Nowadays appliances are cheap, so people are just getting new
> ones," said Paul Singh, a manager at the Appliance Service Depot, a
> repair shop in Northwest. "As a result, business has slowed down a
> lot."
> "The average repair cost for a household appliance is $50 to $350,"
> said Shahid Rana, a service technician at Rana Refrigeration, a repair
> shop in Capitol Heights. "If the repair is going to cost more than
> that, we usually tell the customer to go out and buy a new one."
> It's not uncommon for today's repairmen to condemn an appliance
> instead of fixing it for the sake of their customers' wallets.
> If they decide to repair an appliance that is likely to break down
> again, repairmen are criticized by their customers and often lose
> business because of a damaged reputation.
> Mr. Jones said he based his repair decisions on the 50 percent
> rule: "If the cost of service costs more than 50 percent of the price
> of a new machine, I'll tell my customers to get a new one."
> "A lot of customers want me to be honest with them, so I'll tell
> them my opinion and leave the decision making up to them," he said.
> In recent years, consumers have tended to buy new appliances when
> existing warranties expire rather than repair old appliances, the
> Department of Labor said.
> Mr. Brown acknowledged this trend. "Lower-end appliances which you
> can buy for $200 to $300 are basically throwaway appliances," he said.
> "They are so inexpensive that you shouldn't pay to get them repaired."
> "The quality of the materials that are being made aren't lasting,"
> Mr. Jones said. "Nowadays you're seeing more plastic and more circuit
> boards, and they aren't holding up."
> Many home appliances sold in the United States are made in Taiwan,
> Singapore, China and Mexico.
> "Nothing is made [in the United States] anymore," Mr. Jones said.
> "But then again, American parts are only better to a point, a lot of
> U.S. companies are all about the dollar."
> Fortunately for the next generation of repairmen, some of today's
> high-end appliances make service repairs the most cost-effective
> option.
> The Department of Labor concurred. "Over the next decade, as more
> consumers purchase higher-priced appliances designed to have much
> longer lives, they will be more likely to use repair services than to
> purchase new appliances," said the 2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook.
> Modern, energy-efficient refrigerators can cost as much as $5,000
> to $10,000, and with such a hefty price tag, throwing one away is not
> an option.
> In some cases, repairmen can help consumers reduce the amount of
> aggravation that a broken appliance will cause.
> Consider the time and effort it takes to shop for a new appliance,
> wait for its delivery, remove the old one and get the new one
> installed.
> In addition, certain appliances such as ovens and washing machines
> can be a bigger hassle to replace because they are connected to gas and
> water lines.
> "It takes your time, it takes your effort, and if you don't install
> the new appliance, you'll have to hire a service technician to install
> it anyways," Mr. Brown said.
> Some consumers bond with their appliances like old pets, and for
> loyalty or sentimental reasons, refuse to let them go.
> Mr. Rana said some of his clients have appliances that are more
> than 30 years old. It makes sense, he said. "A lot of old refrigerators
> are worth fixing because they give people good service. They just don't
> make things like they used to."
>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1990421,00.html
In a UK national newspaper today
--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/
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