<p>OK, the appliances and cars are falling apart around us here at my house. The washer is making alarming noises, my car is rattling underneath… but yet, today I am making pot roast in my crockpot from the 1970s, because the crockpot I received as a gift last year burns everything and the one from the 1970s works great. Our stupid side-by-side Kenmore refrigerator that we hate and have had for 10 years won’t break so we can get a new one…</p>
<p>I’m willing to pay a little more up front for better appliances and cars if only I knew they were supposed to last, and not designed to fail after a certain amount of time.</p>
<p>So, what have you had success with? For me, obviously it’s my crockpot (Sears Crockwatcher), and my refrigerator.</p>
<p>My circa 1970s lighted Clairol makeup mirror. Never had a problem with it, never even replaced the bulbs. I had to buy a new mirror recently after I dropped my trusty Clairol. The replacement, a fancy, schmancy $130 Rialto mirror, needed a new $14 bulb within the first month.</p>
<p>Coffee maker. Not only did my old one make wonderful coffee, but there was an access panel on the bottom so I could correct any little problem that came up. Lasted twelve years. The replacement makes terrible coffee unless you give it lots of special attention while brewing, and I needed to put an insulating pad on coffee warmer to keep it from burning the coffee in the pot. No access panel on the bottom, and it’s likely the water-heater and coffee warmer are integrated so I can’t “fix” the coffee warmer problem. The new one was cheaper though … by $10. Hardly worth it.</p>
<p>It’s outlasted 2 fancier over-the-cooktop models…and is pulled out of the basement to be used when the others have failed. Bought it the year D was born and it (and she) are still going strong.</p>
<p>Osterizer blender. Bought in the early 80’s (but it still has a 70’s color scheme: brown and beige with some orange buttons), used a lot, and still works perfectly.</p>
<p>Still using an oster blender…avocado green…that was a hand me down from a friend. It works GREAT.</p>
<p>Re: that 70’s crock pot. We replaced ours about 4 years ago because SLOW took on a whole new meaning. It took two days to cook things in the crock pot…and that was a little TOO slow for my tastes.</p>
<p>I have a Revere dutch oven that was given to my parents when they got married in 1949. It’s a winner.</p>
<p>I have told this before, but when my mother was in the hospital with me (fifth of six kids) she told my Dad she was not coming home until there was a dryer in the house. He went out and bought a SpeedQueen. Years later and billions of loads of laundry later, my mother gave it to me when she moved out her house to an apartment. Finally, just after my 49th birthday, it gave up the ghost. In the three years since we have gone through 2 other dryers. Does anyone know where I can get a 1957 Speed Queen?</p>
<p>My Kenmore side by side fridge (25 years and going strong including the icemaker), my Osterizer blender 30+ years and going strong, my Amana Radar-range has outlasted 3 other microwaves over 23 years, My Maytag washer and drier almost 30 years and still going, my Viking stove with the exception of replacing an electronic starter every 10 years (less than $50 part), my 1993 Volvo stationwagon still chugging along at cost of less than $500 per year in maintenance/repair, my iron since college is still nice and heavy and works great brand unknown in comparison I’ve had to replace the diswasher about every 7 years and it drives me crazy that no one can make a dishwasher that lasts.</p>
<p>My GE fridge is 21 years old and going fine. The old fridge it replaced is still in use as an extra in the garage. The old GE oven is probably 40+ years old (however old this house is - I think it was about 20 years old when we bough it 21 years ago) and works fine. We replaced the 40+ year old microwave and cook top about 5 years ago. Both were working fine but I wanted a gas cook top and a new more powerful microwave with a turntable. We have already had to replace the replacement $300+ microwave when the thingy that makes the microwaves went out. And the knobs on the maytag cooktop break constantly and have to be replaced. Cheap plastic. Right now we have only 2 knobs out of 4 as we really begrudge replacing the whole set yet again! The Maytag ad about not needing repairs makes be laugh, but not in a happy way. I should have just stuck with my old stuff till it actually died. They would probably still be going strong.</p>
<p>Our builder put a Sub-zero refrigerator in our house 19 years ago and we’ve never had a problem. My 1975 wedding gift crockpot is still going strong.</p>
<p>We have a large screen Sony TV that my dad got when he moved back from Cali (early 1980s). My dad keeps promising us that we’ll get a new TV when that one gives way, but the darn thing won’t lol. It’s survived 7 or 8 moves, being dropped at least 6 or 7 times, and has a better picture quality than the TV that my parents bought for another room about 2 years ago. </p>
<p>We have a fondu pot from the 60s that works a heck of a lot better than the one a friend gave us last year for Christmas. The new one just burns everything :(.</p>
<p>we have a 26 year old Subzero fridge that is still going strong. They used a lot of metal instead of plastic in those days and it is a workhorse.</p>
<p>My Minolta SLR camera, circa 1971. I received it in 1982. Used it until I got my digital camera, last year. </p>
<p>It was a hand me down from a friend, and I used it without any problems, except cleaning the lens and adding batteries every year or two. Added a nice long range telephoto, and got the best shots. </p>
<p>My ex-H had a Clairol blowdryer when we met in 1979. Somehow in the division of assets, I got the blowdryer. Still used on a consistent basis in the barn to dry newborn baby goats.</p>