There was a time when the family washing machine would last decades, with each breakdown fixed by the friendly local repair person. But those days are long gone.

Too many products are easier to throw away than fix—consumers deserve a ‘right to repair’::There was a time when the family washing machine would last decades, with each breakdown fixed by the friendly local repair person. But those days are long gone.

  • @smackmyballsoffEnglish
    3•8 months ago

    I feel like it would make a huge difference. They’re planning obsolescence for vehicles and equipment now too. I have a tractor from the 70’s that’s still running fine, why? Because they used to make them with the idea that the consumer can and should be able to perform their own maintenance and repair, for a farmer back then a tractor was a huge purchase and was expected to last many years. I

    Meanwhile, the new ones require being brought to the shop for all kinds of things, many can only be fixed with software that most people don’t have, if available at all.

    Instead of repairing what they have, companies want people to just buy new stuff every couple of years if not sooner.

    It’s just sad when stuff from 50 years ago will still last longer than something you purchase today.

    Regarding automotives and equipment, old machinery could last forever really, with the right replacement parts, but those are getting extremely hard to find as well with everyone just buying new instead of repairing what they have. It’s something else…