How long does your toaster last?

[MrsWembley]

Mine is slowly needing longer and longer to toast properly and I keep thinking it's on its last legs but then it carries on regardless.

So, was it actually worth the money or would a normal one have lasted just as long?

Another classic 4-slot Dualit. Bought in 1988. Four elements and the timer mechanism have been replaced.

@XingMing

Another classic 4-slot Dualit. Bought in 1988. Four elements and the timer mechanism have been replaced.

That reminds of an old joke,

I've had the sam broom for 20 years, it's only needed 7 new handles and 12 new heads

my dualit must be at least 23 years old, it does need a new timer, so it still works but rarely counts down without a poke and it it HOUSE LAW that the toaster is never left unattended when in use

but other than that and the fact i have broken the two lifts on the crumb tray it's pristine! I fixed them with sugru.

im on my 2nd one in 10 years (id say this ones abotu 3 years old) just the cheapy ones from argos, last one broke as it kept falling out the cupboard - i tried to go without one and just toast under the grill but kept burning bread so got another toaster

Dualit. Designed to last forever as you just swap out warn parts.

^That reminds of an old joke,

I've had the sam broom for 20 years, it's only needed 7 new handles and 12 new heads^

Yes, some of these Dualit toasters do sound a bit 'trigger's broom'.

How much does a new element etc cost?

Obviously repairing an old appliance is likely to be more sustainable than constantly replacing the whole item with cheaper ones, but it sounds like it's an expensive way to do it.

Obviously repairing an old appliance is likely to be more sustainable than constantly replacing the whole item with cheaper ones, but it sounds like it's an expensive way to do it.
The sustainable bit is pretty important though.
They are about £10 but we have only needed one at the most used end.
To be honest we could have swopped slot 1 for slot 4 like car tyres.
Whilst we have cheap imported goods it will always be cheaper for people to buy a throwaway toaster for £10 and bung it in landfill.

But I don't want to do the MN thing of saying well I have this £££ toaster which has lasted 4 generations what's your problem, and appear oblivious to the fact that most people would never buy a £150 toaster. If you use it a lot you should maybe be thinking in terms of similar cost to your microwave or hob.

it sounds like it's an expensive way to do it.

Not really. Averaging the cost of toaster plus elements over its current life it is £8 a year for me. It's no different to replacing worn parts on a car, it's not a toaster made of completely new parts.

£10 is less than I thought it would cost tbh, I half expected it to be £30/40/50.

Any time I've looked for parts to repair something, it's cost nearly as much as a new item, eg we've just had to replace 5 YO oven due to a grill fire.

The only damage was to the control panel and buttons and I priced up the parts and got as far as £240 before I'd included delivery and the one part that was out of stock with no price listed.

I bought a new oven off ebay for £280.

But old electrical appliances don't go to landfill. They are separated out for recycling and what can't be recycled doesn't always go to landfill anyway. My city doesn't have any landfill sites any more, it's all incinerated in an energy production plant.

@BarbaraofSeville

^That reminds of an old joke,

I've had the sam broom for 20 years, it's only needed 7 new handles and 12 new heads^

Yes, some of these Dualit toasters do sound a bit 'trigger's broom'.

How much does a new element etc cost?

Obviously repairing an old appliance is likely to be more sustainable than constantly replacing the whole item with cheaper ones, but it sounds like it's an expensive way to do it.

It was £25 for a new clockwork timer for ours. Yes, we could have bought a whole toaster for that but the result was a component about the size of the palm of my hand going into landfill, rather than a whole toaster.

To be fair it’s not just the landfill it’s the carbon footprint of manufacturing shipping and retailing all those toasters, it’s an mini story of the consumer society where new goods are cheap, don’t last and are non repairable. If we are going to move to circular economy somehow things need to change but it will need a big cultural shift.

Have had our dualit for about 7 years now with no issues.

Thanks for all of these (sorry, forgot I'd asked the question!)

Mine's a Dualit, too. Don't need to worry about the cost of it, then, or about it lasting a bit longer!

Our previous one (basic supermarket one) lasted about 12 years.