Fridge-freezers only last 4-5 years?!

[KeyboardMash]

Our four-year old fridge-freezer has just died. The bloke who came to fix it basically said that the bit that's broken (compressor relay? I may have got that wrong) cannot be replaced and that's it - it needs replacing. His first question was "what is it - five years old?" Because apparently that's the machine's lifespan - four to five years. Just been to Currys today and the guy we spoke to about a replacement said the same thing - current ones last about four to five years.

AIBU to think this is ridiculous?! I'm sure my parents have had ones go for 10-15 years. It is beyond ridiculous - and I think shady as hell - for new machines now to last less well than they used to. And I think only a small exaggeration to say humanity is doomed if manufacturers are deliberately churning out appliances that have to be junked every five years! I am in a very bad mood but I don't think I'm the one that's being unreasonable here.

What brand is it? My two have lasted much longer.

Zanussi upright fridge freezer - bought in 1986, given to a newly divorcing friend in 2005 and was still working in 2007.
Current AEG upright fridge freezer - bought in 2005 and still going strong.

Both have survived a house move.

Washing machines on the other hand seem to last about 30 months.

Yes. I am inclined to believe the two people, who spend quite a lot of their time dealing with these appliances in different ways, who separately said the exact same thing.

😆

One a salesmen
The other one couldn’t fix the item in question

We had one from my Dad, when he moved out of his house and moved into a property which already had an integrated fridge freezer.
He & Mum purchased the fridge in 1977 when they bought the house, according to my Dad! So that one would now be 47 years old, but it died aged 36 last year 😉

what brand was yours OP?

For me its the smaller appliances i go through a lot. In the 16 years since I moved into my current home and had my current FF, I had 6 toasters and 5 kettles.

Toasters have broke for these reasons:
. A spring that holds the bread in one of the slots broke so only toasted one side
. When the toast popped out, the handle snapped off
. On replacing the 2nd toaster, the 3rd one shortened the electrics
. Toaster control broke so it was charred black bread
. One of the slot's heating elements died

Kettles:
. Two started to leak
. The catch that keeps the switch on broke so had to keep hold on it whilst it boiled. Think of those things you do whilst kettle on - getting mugs, tea/coffee and milk out, pop bread in toaster, pour cereals and milk in bowl etc.
. Just died

I'm dreading an expensive time. We had our kitchen done eight years ago and had everything new. All the appliances were Neff and the only thing that has failed (twice) is the warming drawer. At the same time Dualit toaster and kettle all still going strong.

I have an extra fridge freezer in my garage which is still going strong, and never given any problems. I bought it in 1996 in Australia and shipped it over a few years later, it’s Fisher & Paykel. It’s pretty shocking that modern ones have such a short lifespan.

Those of you with fridges still going after 12-15 years..... Thats how they made them 12-15 years ago. If you bought a new one today it won't last that long.

Yanbu - humanity is doomed.

how do you know?

Washing machines are even worse.

We put in a new kitchen and utility room about 8 years ago. The freezer and oven are the only appliances still going. Everything else has had to be replaced. My sister and mil have had much the same experience. I've tried having some appliances repaired but it's expensive to do and they ended up failing again and needed to be replaced anyway.

Coming up on 30 years our large Bosch one. Still going strong. Freestanding and has always been in the garage of wherever we have lived - although whether that contributes to longevity I have no idea.

My LG fridge freezer is still going strong after 8 years, and it has an ice maker etc that has lots of small bits that could go wrong.

Our fridge (Liebherr) is at least 15 years old. Suspect it will die soon, but it’s hanging in there. Our old washing machine (cheap Indesit) lasted 22 years and 2 house moves… the salesperson who sold us a new one said there was no way we’d get one that lasted have as long.

I think all the people on here are missing that if their fridge is 15 years old then it's not a new fridge and they were built to last 10-15 years ago!
My fridge is also 4 years old and has also just died. We were also told they have a life span if 5 years.

I think it must be brand specific.
perhaps the old saying “you get what you pay for” applies.
We’ve had some white goods that struggle to last much beyond the 12-18 month warranty period. But have also had some more “considered” purchases last over a decade touch wood

One other thing worth mentioning is the attitude, ability, partnership status of the engineer looking at it. We had a washing machine, for example that was considered a write off by an engineer in UK. Same fault and cause was easily fixable for €20 by an engineer when we lived in Europe. Don’t know if it is attitude, skill or regulation but most things are fixable.

fridges and freezers are particularly maintainable - I’ve had a go myself with current one that I assumed would need to be replaced (still nervous about it) but it remains workable after 15 years and 3 house moves.

Maybe it is the throwaway society we live in that results in it being cheaper to replace than doing simple repairs/maintenance?

Yup.

Bottom of the range premium brands are often not that much more expensive than top of the budget brands ranges. Often they are cheaper. They make lack some fancier features ( do you really need a wifi-enabled fridge freezer?) but are built to the same standards and have the same longevity as the rest of the premium brand models. You can't always find them in the shops, though. We bought a new FF last year, and wanted the model without a water dispenser. It was the bottom of the range model, so couldn't find it anywhere in the shops. Looked at its brother - identical except for the water dispenser - were happy with what we found, and bought the actual model we wanted online.

It replaced a 20yo LG. We have a Samsung FF in the garage, which we switched off when two of our dc were in university and we no longer needed it. It only gets switched at full house times like Christmas, but ran continuously for 20y.

Inbuilt obsolescence, suits capitalism. Buy the best you can, spend a bit more and cross your fingers lol. It's worked for me, my Dyson lasted , cheaper brands lasted 2or 3 years.

YANBU. All new appliances 8 years ago and in that time we've had to replace the dishwasher and fridge freezer already. Both were Bosch. Bosch appliances our parents own and now 20 years old!!

It is, but that's capitalism for you. One of the reasons tupperware has been in such dire financial straits is because its too good and lasts too long, so people very rarely need to buy new tupperware.

Luckily Europe is bringing in a lot of right to repair legislation that should make products easier to repair. While it won't directly affect us because of bloody Brexit, in a lot of cases it's simpler to have one product across Europe and the UK, so we should reap some of the benefits.

"They don't make 'em like they used to."
I recently had to replace my fridge freezer. It was here 12 years ago, when I moved in and had been pat tested in 2008, so its old, but I don't know exactly how old.
I now have the same make (not deliberate, it was cheaper) and I'm hoping it lasts.

We've mostly had Liebherrs which are all well into their second decade. One AEG bought on a cheap offer and that did indeed die after 4-5 years. Make of that what you will.

I have one in a rental, 24 years old and another 15 years old.

My very basic Electra (obsolete now) tumble dryer is 23 years old!