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Rant

Today's NON-repairable products

I grew up in the day when replacement parts were available for various consumer items.
We know that not everything last forever and we expect certain items to break down either during or after any warranty.

What we don't expect is when company XYZ says that no replacement parts are available for your purchased product(s).

I bought on of the those car 12 volt booster packs to keep as an emergency back up in my car. Like anything emergency related, you won't use it till you need it. That time line could very well go beyond any 30 day warranty. During the warranty the item can be returned and get a replacement. After the warranty is over no parts are available and you're off to buy another new item.

I bought two booster packs in a row and the dealer, as well as the manufacture, tell me that I'm on my own.
My nephew just bought a house. The furnace is 4 years old and it broke down. He called a big name furnace company and they said the simple part he needed is over $1,000. The tech said this company, RHEEM, charges these prices because they don't want you to fix the furnace, they want you to buy another new one.

One problem I have is when we contact the company online we end up dealing with someone in the call center. Their answers to us are all scripted or auto-bot responses. There is no real connection to the companies. Any concerns that we have don't really reach the upper management as we asked for.

Retailers base all their sales on the major consumer percentage that will buy and do nothing after the fact. They don't worry about the smaller percentage of us who express our concerns. Same as those "seen on TV" ads.

I have seen way too many brand names that have been bought out by unknown names so to sell their products as though you're buying quality, when in fact we're buying garbage.

Why aren't more people speaking out? Where is the government for consumer protection?

Discussion is locked

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I hear ya'
Jan 14, 2015 9:37PM PST

My refrigerator is 25 years old put one part on it 7 years ago, dread the thoughts of buying ANY major appliance (except for tv...they're dirt cheap now)

This aired last week.

Faulty Appliances: Repairmen Unplugged

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MarketPlace

I watch that show all the time. It's an awesome program. Just wish a few executive from XYZ and ABC company would watch it too

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I've had a few run ins
Jan 15, 2015 5:03AM PST

persistence pay off...if you have the time....after while they figure out it's costing them money to have someone on the phone with you.

torment the place you purchased the item from and the manufacturer.

Don't give up easily.

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It's because our economy thrives on waste
Jan 15, 2015 1:01AM PST

We're expected to buy more and more of what we don't really need in order to keep money moving. When we run out of places to store our stuff, we buy storage space...more stuff. When something breaks, we throw it in the dump and buy another one...or maybe buy two so we have a backup. Repairing what breaks doesn't work anymore. We need to find work for more people every day. When we run out of useful work, we create useless work such as adding more inspectors and regulators to the government work force. These people also need to earn money to buy stuff they neither want nor need.

Now stop bellyaching and get out there and buy more junky stuff. Happy

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The current US Gov is about protecting business.
Jan 15, 2015 2:13AM PST

It's in the news so moving on.

I find that Ebay has more parts than the maker/dealers. Go figure.


HOWEVER when you can buy a complete laptop for 250 bucks and the counter fee for repair starts at over 100, the choice looks to be clearly the replacement is cheaper. Add to that you can ebay off the old thing and for the price of a repair you get a new laptop.

If you want to go back to many thousand dollar laptops, then repair makes sense. You see this on cars. Repairs are cheaper than a new car.
Bob

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Well...you can buy a home heating/air conditioner
Jan 15, 2015 2:25AM PST

that you can monitor or control from a smart phone. It will cost many thousands. A good furnace lasts at least 20-25 years. How long will a person keep their smart phone? You also have automobiles which come with Sirius or Pandora radio and buttons to match. Of course you almost can't get a car without BT. Some of these technologies come with trial subscriptions. You give your email and home address to your car dealer and the junk mail starts to arrive. As for Pandora and BT, does anyone think these will outlast their vehicle? You've just bought a mobile billboard so who needs to bother making road signs?

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(NT) A self driving car would not need signs.
Jan 15, 2015 2:37AM PST
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And could be loaded with explosives eliminating
Jan 15, 2015 5:22AM PST

the need to recruit suicide bombers. I'm not interested in these yet...thank you.

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(NT) Why do you think drones freak folk out?
Jan 15, 2015 5:41AM PST
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No doubt self driving cars will be big at some future time
Jan 15, 2015 6:19AM PST

How far into the future remains to be seen. Personally I think 5 years after they become available will be a good time for me to think about them. Since many new cars come with some bugs, I hope whoever programs them, has a way to make them pull over, stop, and call for help using a backup system. It'll be interesting to see what the lawyers, insurance companies, and lawmakers do with them too. The first time somebody gets in an accident with one, regardless of who's fault it is, will be a major ground breaking event I expect.

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smart phones?

Please don't go there. You just hit a never. Now I am really agitated. I've had my own series of problems with Samsung Smart Phone. Try dealing with customer support. Does not exist. I feel like I'm dealing with "BOTS" or mindless creatures that have no clue what you're talking about and they have no interest in helping you with your problem. They said I'd have to get a new phone. I told them this phone was $300 and only a year and a half old and out of warranty. Still, there was nothing they could do.

Yes, TVs are cheap enough and for the most part I good service out of them (so far, fingers crossed)
I had an episode with Maytag a few years back with our brand new Fridge, where the defroster made a weird cracking sound during defrosts mode. The ice was being heated up to hot and too fast. may tag was useless and the customer service person in Nashville yelled at me. that was cool. after letters and emails and complaints they still did nothing. Bunch of creeps and crooks.

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I've always used Sears for big ticket items
Jan 15, 2015 5:35AM PST

Unless something has changed they have fair prices for the replacement parts. It kept my oil burner running longer than expected with 2 transformer replacements over 30 years and 3 electrode replacements, and a couple "fire out" optical switches replaced during that time. It still could be resurrected, but I've retired it for all electrical heat now.