Built-in obsolescence — a fact or an urban myth?

Is built-in obsolescence a fact or an urban myth? Does household equipment really have a finite life determined by the manufacturer or is it something we consumers have conned ourselves into believing every time there is a gadget breakdown?

To a case in point. It had stood under the kitchen bench for close on eight years, a monument to legendary German technology and engineering that was supposed to last if not for 1000 years, at least for my lifetime. During those years the machine had produced shiny platters, gleaming cutlery and saucepans that looked like new.

And then it started. A little more noise than usual or was it imagination? But when the whine began there was no mistaking the fact that this dishwasher was in pain and so too would be my wallet because specialised machinery is never cheap to repair. So with everything shut down, the machine was emptied and its contents laboriously washed by hand in an exercise that was supposed to have disappeared with side-button boots and the hansom cab.

After a phone call, a mechanic turned up the next day bringing with him his mystery bag of two computers and a special cable, one end of which was magically fastened to the front of the dishwasher and the other end to one of the computers. He switched the machine on and immediately pronounced it as “not right”. With the cable, computer and dishwasher connected, LEDs flashed and flickered holding the mechanic spellbound.

Eventually he pronounced the bad news in a suitable funereal voice that the main pump and an attachment thereto were on their last legs and could fail at any time but in the meantime we could keep using the machine. If it stops, you empty it and wash by hand, he said confidently. He added, almost as an afterthought, that these components are the most expensive in the machine.

Now eight years does not seem an awfully long time for a domestic machine to last and hence came up the question of built-in obsolescence. Even if the urban myth is true, there is still a major dilemma to be faced. Do you spend the money on a repair knowing that the rest of the machine is the same age and could fail soon too or do you cut your losses, put it out for a kerbside pickup and buy a new machine? The chances are that the price has probably come down since buying the original and the technology might have improved. Although the price of a new machine has probably fallen, since buying the original, it is more likely that additional technology and even more circuit boards, relays, micro-switches and other electronic wizardry have been added.

Does buying a more expensive model of anything give you a guarantee of longer life? Surely with today’s manufacturing precision and with metallurgy now a fine art, we should expect machinery to last more than eight years.

And it’s not just dishwashers. From garden equipment to motor cars that are loaded down with electronics and clever diagnostic systems, longevity is not something to assume where some of the replacement PCBs cost nearly as much as the original piece of equipment. Here the old dilemma raises its ugly head again — replace or renovate.

A PVR of my acquaintance was less than 18 months old when it refused to start recording at the beginning of a program. While this was almost certainly an electronic glitch to do with timers, clocks and sensors, its cause was no comfort to me and my foreshortened recording.

It seems that paying top price is no guarantee of reliable longevity. You may get a better guarantee, but then you should for paying top dollar. Let the buyer beware today seems as hollow as some of the wilder claims by equipment makers.

Of course part of the answer is more simplicity. Machines with 15,000 variables and combinations are there to sell for their apparent versatility, which is largely wasted on the average buyer, who chooses a setting and there it stays for the next millennium. All that other technology just takes up cabinet space and is wasted, just adding to the initial cost and subsequent servicing.

Image credit: ©iStock/Adam Gregor