I had a Sony Trinitron 32" tv I bought before we moved to the house we live in 20 years ago, that set was moved, it was moved around the house (not easily or gently), and it just continued to keep working (funny part was, Consumer Reports routinely said the trinitron tv’s wouldn’t last, they had problems, weren’t robust, etc…). I have a Sony large screen I bought a number of years ago, it works fine.
With Subzero, from what I have been told by the repair guys, the newwer models are not that good, they have slacked off. Mine was built 20 years ago, and I basically have a new fridge after replacing the compressor and the condensor, it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles but is a solid unit.
Probably the best appliance I ever saw was a sears chest freezer that I finally decided to get rid of about 10 years ago, we weren’t using it and it took up a ton of space. It was from 1959, it was a Sears (Whirlpool), and it never was repaired, had the original freon charge, and could freeze a side of beef, literally.
Miele supposedly are very reliable, someday I might try one of the vacuums, I have found that even old reliables, like Sears canister vacs, don’t last, give them a couple of years, and they are gone. Dehumidifiers are like that, I generally have to replace the one in my basement every couple of years, they aren’t that cheap, and they don’t last, doesn’t matter the make.
“Miele supposedly are very reliable, someday I might try one of the vacuums…”
Mine is only 2 years old, so no opinion on reliability, but it cleans very well and is super quiet, even quieter than my old Dyson. I liked the Dyson very much, but the plastic they used on their earlier models was not that sturdy.
Haven’t had it long enough to be sure (is 36 hours long enough?) but received a Technivorm coffee maker as a gift. It has a 5-year warranty and the web site notes that the company will repair the coffee maker for a reasonable price afterward if necessary. They emphasize that they make spare parts available so that the machine is easy to fix if something breaks. Of course it costs the same as 3 lesser coffee makers… But it makes great coffee, and if you have the luck to live in Germany (per Amazon.de), you can get it for the cost of only 2 lesser coffee makers… A bargain!
I have a Miele Espresso machine. It was very expensive, but I have heard good things about the brand, and I’m hoping it lasts for many, many years. I can tell you it makes amazing lattes, and it makes me happy every morning.
My Vitamix blender: I use it every single day–three years now–and have not burned it out. It took me six months for Cuisinart and Waring blenders (3 of them, replaced under warranty); 2 years for Blendtec (replaced 2x under warranty). I’m optimistic I will be unable to burn it out any time soon.
Patagonia clothing seems to be indestructible. I buy it when it’s on sale, which makes the prices almost reasonable. I bought a cashmere sweater from them six years ago that I now wear for running in the rain and dog training because it isn’t my current style. It’s warm, comfy, and still looks great, despite having been washed at least a hundred times. (Right now they’re having their semi-annual 50% off sale.)
I still use the Oster blender that my college roommate gave me as a graduation present in 1984 after I burned out hers making one too many batches of strawberry daiquiris.
My Osterizer is still going strong, though I buy a new blade on occasion. Avocado green, a gift from my mom in 1974.
Electric boil pots have an amazingly short life. Seems I get a new one every 2 years or so. They are used a lot, but still, what a waste. Some of this is due to hard water, perhaps. Anyone have one that has lasted?
Oster is not what Mom’s was…while mine has held up OK for 20+ years, hers was built better and is over 50. Too much plastic on mine and it could not handle things like Divinity or thick batters.
Just got a KitchenAid for Christmas. Like @Pizzagirl 's husband, I do the cooking, baking, grilling at my house…but I must admit that since I got the new mixer D1 has used it more than I have. She loves to cook, too.
Drove our first Camry for 19 years and 200K+ miles. I can count the repairs on two fingers in that time. (both due to parts that move and wear out)
Another fan of the iron skillet. DW hates them because they are heavy.
Rockport dress shoes (for men, anyway). I have some that have lasted over 25 years. Comfortable, too.
Furniture, you get what you pay for with modern stuff. If you can find old, real wood furniture at auction or something, that is even better.
We often use Consumer Reports to check out the reliability ratings. This is especially useful for cars, but applies to other things too.
I find Consumer Reports frustrating. I’m sure they have good criteria that they rate things on but then you may look at customer reviews on their website and they can often be quite negative for the highest rated products! Often there are no reviews or just a few, which doesn’t help clarify things.
I find it most helpful to cross reference at Amazon or some other site that will have many reviews for products. It’s especially helpful when people come back and update their review later and add more information. I have to take CR ratings with a grain of salt, after all look how low they rated the Speed Queen Washer!
Customer reviews drive me crazy! When I was buying appliances, I read a LOT of them. For every appliance, there were great reviews, and awful ones. To be honest, the didn’t help…at all.
Sure, CR must be taken with a grain of salt…I don’t blindly follow their ratings, I just focus on the aspects of the rating s that are important to me. If they are rating a washer, they will use criteria like ability to clean, water usage, etc. If I only care about reliability, the end result may not make much sense. I focus on what matters and ignore some of the stuff in it.
My corelle plates have lasted a long time. I like to use them daily as they are lightweight.
I bought a set of lunch and dinner plates at least 14 years ago and recently bought more lunch plates to be used for snacks, lunch, and dinner. I like the lunch plate size for portion control.