[smileysteve]

> afford used Chrysler cars

> In the 40s-60s stuff was built to last.

On the surface, I assign this to nostalgia and maybe survival bias;

Automobiles alone provide an example where, in the the 80s, Japanese manufacturers began dumping automobiles in the the U.S. market (and making cheap quality products in the U.S. in the 90s) where the base model could last 2-3x as many miles as the prior domestics (GM, Chryslers).

I also make this statement with a 25 year old refrigerator, washer, and dryer) and a 16 year old luxury import automobile with 180k miles on the original clutch (that I bought used) and have spent very little on preventative maintenance on.

*Side anecdote on cars and unwise subscription to brand loyalty. A 1989 Mazda (made in Japan) that I bought used in 2005, had more security (key encoding, immobilizer) features than two friend's 10+ year newer Chryslers that were stolen in ~2010

[bobthepanda]

Appliances are a bit of a pickle, because with energy efficiency alone you can save so much money on running costs by upgrading.

In fact, you can save so much energy that at least one utility I've had over the years has a program to pay people to replace appliances, because it turns out that's cheaper than new power generation and transmission.

[rsynnott]

> On the surface, I assign this to nostalgia and maybe survival bias

There's some aspect of truth to it in some industries (though not cars, as you say). Kind of. So a washing machine that you buy now probably won't last as long as a washing machine that you bought in 1980 (though it will be cheaper to run). The catch is that the purchase price is, in real terms, _much_ lower. And you can actually buy washing machines that last a long time today, but most people simply aren't willing to spend thousands on one.

The modern machine costs a few hundred euro and if the drum goes, well, that's the end, buy another one. You can get one with a replaceable drum for maybe 1500 euro, but you're probably not going to, realistically.

[chii]

> And you can actually buy washing machines that last a long time today, but most people simply aren't willing to spend thousands on one.

i don't believe that. A company selling washing machines have incentive to make one that breaks _just_ after the warranty expires, so as to enable more sales. It can't be both true that the consumer saves money, and the company maximizing profit. One of the have to suffer - and it's usually the consumer.

[rsynnott]

Higher end Miele machines have a very good reputation on this, as do some BSG machines (again on the high end). Honestly, given the pricing, Miele probably still wins by selling you a 1500 euro machine that might last 30 years, vs a 300 euro Indesit that would be lucky to make it to 10 years.

It's not rocket science; to make a reliable maintainable washing machine, you need to make one where all important parts are feasibly replaceable. In particular, if a machine has replaceable drum bearings, that's a good sign.

[lmm]

There's not much brand loyalty for washing machines, so the manufacturers are probably not going to see a second scale. Of course they will cheap out on parts if they can (as long as the parts will last just longer than the warranty), so that doesn't make much difference in practice. But you can buy from a company that offers a longer warranty if the longevity is worth it to you.

[jfim]

You can buy a Speed Queen washing machine today, they're supposed to be comparable in quality to their commercial products. A front load washer will set you back about two grand though.

[yardie]

Survivorship bias and security through obscurity.

A 1989 Mazda is old enough to not have anything worth stealing (ie. airbags) and with few cars still running no one has bothered to even try and crack the immobilizer. Your friends' late model Chryslers probably have $3000-$6000 worth of airbags alone.

[paulryanrogers]

I do wonder how this all shakes out now that many brands are selling out as glorified drop-shippers of increasingly poor quality products.

When brand is meaningless what other signals will consumers use to filter? Will we all need test machinery to vet every purchase?

[DubiousPusher]

Brands have been meaningless for a long time. Open an applicance made by Whirlpool, Amana, Kitchen-Aid, Jenn-Air or Maytag and you'll find nearly identical internal components. They are all owned by Whirlpool. Yet this has no effect on people swearing by or swearing at any one brand.

Buying a car, you can try to shop by brand but surveys by Edmunds and Consumer Reports have the car companies trading places frequently year over year. Even perennial favorites Lexus and Toyota have model/year combinations that perform worse than other brands.

I'm not even sure that drop-shippers are hocking lower quality items. The items are so similar to name brand kit that I'm pretty sure they're using the same supply chains to source a lot of that stuff.