A short refrigerator rant

[spinbaby]

I have a second refrigerator in the basement. It’s about forty years old. It works perfectly. Nothing ever breaks on it.

I have a seven-year-old refrigerator in the kitchen. It’s being replaced on Wednesday because things keep breaking on it. The last straw was when the door handle came off because the part that attaches it was made of cheap plastic. It’s a Bosch refrigerator, by the way, and seems designed to disintegrate. The next one is a Beko—I hope it will be better.

Why can’t they make a refrigerator that lasts anymore?

[rsdsharp]

1. I agree. We have a Monkey Ward fridge in the basement the previous owners left.

It’s gotta be 30-40 years old, and works fine. My mother-in-law has one that’s probably 60-70 years old; ugly, but bullet proof.

We’ve bought four refrigerators since I got out of school in 1987. They last about 10 years, and seem incapable of being repaired.

[OverBurn]

2. I love my 2 year old Samsung. Black Stainless, it's a work art and it works great. So far.

[Scottie Mom]

12. Worst refrigerator I ever had was a Samsung.

It lasted in “working order” maybe two years maximum. The icemaker worked for about one year in good order. And the ice maker required a repair man at least once a month while it was still under a one-year warranty.

The top of the line French door with a bottom freezer and a separate middle drawer for snacks. It was the most expensive Samsung made at the time. It literally had to be thrown in the trash it was in such bad condition after two years total.

It’s not like it had a lot of use. I am a widow and live alone except for a small Scottish terrier.

[OverBurn]

18. Hope I have better luck. I bought Samsung Fridge, Stove and Dishwasher

Beautiful to look at, black stainless. Over 2 years no problems. Hope I didn't just jinks them.

[FSogol]

3. Beko? Are these sold in the US? n/t

[spinbaby]

8. Apparently

Because I’m having it delivered Wednesday. It was from a local independent appliance dealer, not a big box store.

[spooky3]

4. That's disappointing. Bosch dishwashers are great. But apparently

They have work to do on refrigerators. I’m sorry you are having the problems.

[spinbaby]

9. I've been happy with the dishwasher

Don’t know what the deal with the refrigerator is, though. I’m an old lady who doesn’t abuse appliances, so if the shelves and drawers crack, the handle falls off, and the door sports random dents, it’s not because I’m beating it up.

[spooky3]

17. An appliance repairman once told me there are a couple of reasons

Appliance quality has declined. One is that there are fewer manufacturers than ever, so there is less competition. Another is that as manufacturers add electronic frills, there are more things that can break down.

While prices have gone down (adjusted for inflation) a lot of us would rather pay extra to get appliances that would last.

[Shermann]

13. Yeah, those dishwashers are the high-end option. I wouldn't expect trouble like that from that brand. nt

[global1]

5. Planned Obsolesence.....

and its working!!!

[Shermann]

15. I think manufacturers put too much effort into shaving costs

They will obsess about replacing parts with slightly cheaper versions and will go too far and start to chip away at the sturdiness of the product.

Back in the day, they focused more on building it right from the start without all the cost reduction measures. In fairness, there is more cost pressure today. So, if you build it right, it may not sell. Manufacturers and their customers are holding hands in a race to the bottom.

[Freddie]

6. We have a Kenmore bought in 2018

So far so good. Our previous fridge was also a Kenmore and lasted 20 years. Could have had it fixed but I wanted to (finally) get ice and water in the door. They probably don’t make Kenmore anymore.

[slightlv]

7. My dad used to call these types of things

"planned obsolescence"... I tend to agree with him.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. They don't want to. My fridge, sold with house in 2020, was a 1989 Amana side-by-side. it

made a cross country move, was in storage for 2 years, and still ran perfectly.

[lastlib]

22. My parents had a Zenith chest freezer that lasted for fifty-two years......

Still had the original light bulb when it finally gave up the ghost.

[MOMFUDSKI]

11. It is a Corporate thingy called

Planned Obsolescence. And it sucks. I do have a pizzelle iron made in Cincinnati in the sixties that works as good as it did on day one.

[marked50]

14. I grew up with an International Harvester Refrig.

Yes, they made such things. This was in the early Fifties. That fridge eventually became a basement one (working of course) that was still going until my Dad passed away in 2017. No one wanted it because it really wasn't safe due to the locking handle, poor electrical efficiency and size.


IH also made a chest Freezer (my grandfather had it in the early 50's too) and it lasted till about 2010.

[Trueblue Texan]

21. We bought a house that was built in 1910...

It had an old gas refrigerator in it. We never used it, but I thought it was pretty cool that they actually made refrigerators to run on natural gas.

[Shermann]

16. I got 13 years out of my Whirlpool

It was still sort of working near the end, too. So that's OK, but not phenomenal or anything.

Now I have a KitchenAid as of last month. It seems pretty solid, all good so far. There's more metal and less plastic.

[Staph]

19. My mother still has the Montgomery Ward's refrigerator

that the family bought some months before I was born. I just celebrated my 70th birthday!

Jennifer (yes, the fridge has a nickname) has been the soft drinks/overflow fridge for more than 40 years. The main kitchen fridge has to be replaced every 10 years or so. Jennifer keeps plugging along, with the door gasket and the electrical plug replaced once each. The only downside of Jennifer is that she has to be manually defrosted, every six weeks in the humid summer and every ten weeks in the dry, dry winter.

Planned obsolescence is a real thing!

[Trueblue Texan]

20. I am almost 67 years old and have NEVER had a new refrigerator.

In fact, the only new appliance I've ever had was a new clothes dryer and it's actually the only appliance I've had to replace--with a used one, of course. I've saved thousands of dollars, as well as inconvenience by buying used stuff. Very happy with my choices. Good luck on your new refrigerator!

[Old Crank]

23. Data points

We have a fridge/freezer from IKEA. It is 8 years old. Moved once 2.5 years ago.
So based on this we are getting close to the end.

I posted something like this before. List of live spans for appliances in the US.
The really old ones some have around are really out liers.

https://www.homeserve.com/en-us/blog/home-improvement/how-long-do-appliances-last/