Modern day appliances-is this now the new norm.

[silver8]

Have got to admit that im feeling very sorry for myself and pissed off. im used to kettles and toasters only lating five minutes but by two year old electric cooker has now packed up.These things use to last for 20 years. I cant believe that i have to replace my cooker every two years. Am very short of money,and until i get it sorted am stuck in terms of cooking real food.
But then im stuck with an old cooker that i will have to pay the council £5 to take away.And what will happen to it then.I just find it obscene.
Given that ive very little money but into home cooking in a big way,so a microwave is not the solution for me,has anyone got any suggestions how I can best proceed.Do I get an electrician to check it out before giving up on it. How can i ensure they dont rip me off. If its bad news whats the best value appliance to buy thats going to last.I suppose I would really want to get this one fixed but dont know how to go about it.

[Martin]

how do you mean?- dead as a dodo job?

[Muddypause]

Is it still under guarantee? Even the cheapest cooker should last for more that two years.

An electrician may cost a bit, but I would reckon that may be a better bet than forking out for another cooker. They are the sort of things that can be repaired, and a good appliance engineer may be able to fix it.

But before that, post a few clues here - what exactly has gone wrong with it?

[Stonehead]

Get it checked first, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has failed completely.

We had a washing machine that failed after two years, but was fixed under the three-year warranty. The problem was that the circuit board had burned out as it was "not intended for use in damp conditions". It failed again at just over three years, when the warranty had ended, so it was replaced as it would have cost a minimum of £120 plus callout fee to repair.

The separate oven that the last owners of this place put in failed after two years - the rear element had burned out. It was fixed under warranty - the repairman warned us it was not intended for heavy and repeated use. A year later, the element burned out again and the fan failed at the same time. We were given a surplus oven by a friend.

We've also had electric kettles burn out after two years and, unlike old ones, you can't replace the element. You have to replace the whole kettle.

Oh, and then there's the gee-whiz Dyson vacuum cleaner. It completely lost suction about a month over its three year warranty. The Dyson helpline was completely uninterested apart from suggesting we buy a new one. I've taken it apart to a certain extent - there are no blockages and while the motor runs, it doesn't create a suction. So, we're now using my workshop vacuum cleaner for the house (it may be old and held together by duct tape, but it still works).

Unfortunately, a lot of modern appliances are designed and built down to a very, very tight budget, plus their life expectancy is aim at getting the company past the warranty period.

In the case of the washing machine, I said to the repairman that surely they must get a lot of failures as washing machines are used in damp environments. He said yes, but most people just replace them without complaint so the company makes sure the people who do complain get very good and prompt service so they think the company is great. The cost of the handful of repairs the company carries out under warranty is much less the than the profit it makes from selling more washing machines....

[Wombat]

In the case of the washing machine, I said to the repairman that surely they must get a lot of failures as washing machines are used in damp environments. He said yes, but most people just replace them without complaint so the company makes sure the people who do complain get very good and prompt service so they think the company is great. The cost of the handful of repairs the company carries out under warranty is much less the than the profit it makes from selling more washing machines....

How cynical is that? That is absolutley disgusting - business based on the bottom line only!

Nev

[Martin]

about ten years ago I buttonholed a film rep (from the largest and best known film company in the world) and asked him how come their processing was appalling, and their films twenty years behind their rivals - with a straight face he told me that the "company name" was sufficient, and it was far cheaper to spend money on advertising to tell people how good their film and processing was than to actually give either!

[2steps]

we have had some bad luck with appliances. we had a cooker that lasted only a short while out of it's year guarrente before it stopped heating up properly and I had to carry on using it for months while we saved for a new one the knob wouldn't stay pushed in either and I had to wedge a pole between it and the freezer opposite to make it stay on at all! our toaster and kettle we've had for about 10 years. tv's never seem to last but we've never had a new one so they could be years old when we get them in the first place. Bought a dvd player 2 years ago and thats just about dead now too, ok it was only cheap but I expected it to last longer than that given the use it gets.

The best appliance we've ever had was a washing machine. When I left home 10 years ago my dad was working as a domestic engineer and so sorted us out a washing machine. It was old but worked. In fact I remember my nan having teh same machine when I was little so it was easily 15 - 20 years old. He replaced a few wearable parts and it was a fantatsic machine untill about 2 years ago when things started going wrong. we fixed little bits on it an deven replaced the drum from a salvaged machine but in the end it had to be replaced - I had a piece of string attached to open the door lock as we'd been unable to buy the part needed and stuff like that. It was just too old
As for the cooker we bough a secondhand one, its a range type and brown, with teh grill up top. No idea how old it was but it had been recondidtioned and bought for less than many of the shop normal ones. It's not given me a minutes trouble in the year we've had it and having the 2 seperate ovens and grill has been excellent

[Boots]

By cooker, you mean oven and stove top?

If so, 2 years really is absolutely appalling... Warranty or not, I'd be going back to the seller and getting them to foot the repairman.

Bugger that for a joke!

[insert Nev's emoticon here too]

[2steps]

yes, it was a free standing type with an electric oven and gas stove top. Only had a year warrenty so none was interested whn it broke

[jondy]

People have tested these limited guarantees. For example I had a TV that failed beyond the guarantee period. The first response was it had run out of warranty so can't help. I found that the law enabled you to claim beyond the guarantee period if it was unreasonable for the item to only last a year, for example. I pressed this with the supplier and they repaired it free of charge. It is reasonable to expect your cooker to last more than a year (or 2) then press your claim. Ask trading standards for their guidance on out of warranty items. Clearly, it would need to be an item where you would not expect a replacement in a short period. Not for a consumable item, like a belt on a washing machine, pehaps.

John

[2steps]

thank you for that. we no longer have the cooker as it was taken away when we bought the new one nearly a year ago but I will certainly remember this for future

[hedgewizard]

Silver8, Jondy's reply would seem to apply to you too, so give it a try. If that fails, post to your local Freecycle board. I've seen cookers come up on ours from time to time!

[Millymollymandy]

That's dreadful. I think I have been very lucky with my electrical appliances as they just keep going on year after year. Maybe they are better in France?