The least rewarding purchase I had to make was a boiler for a house. It’s not like something you can show off to your friends. Just thousands in expense to maintain functional parity.
I’m inclined to disagree.
I’m fortunate to have everything I need and a fair bit of what I want. I lost 140 pounds five years ago and my body’s functioning really well too.
Getting old is way better than I anticipated.
I’m happy to win anything
Just being a nominee is an honor
I’m just happy if a nominee deigns to look at a lowely peasant like me.
better than getting dead innit
Is it though?
Our fridge blew. I’m pretty handy, just too many damned issues. Fuck it. What can a new one cost?
I work at Lowe’s, best we got is $900 for the very bottom of the line. Got on FB Marketplace and we have the nicest fridge I’ve ever owned, $200.
Washer crapped out a week later. Same exact story and prices.
And don’t start me on appliances people hunk out because they can’t fix a minor problem. Found a dryer on the road needing a $14 belt. Sold it for $125. Upgraded 2 ceiling fans to super nice ones by bypassing the crappy voltage limiter (it’s a legal thing in the US.) I can do this all day.
tl;dr: Shit’s expensive. Stop burning the planet and your wallet.
Not everyone is lucky enough to be handy, unfortunately…
If something is already broken there is no excuse to not give it at least a try. There are a lot of instructions on the internet for fixing common problems.
I think there’s a risk element too
If I fuck up some plumbing in an appliance things are going to get wet, near whatever electrics are used to drive it.
There is a non zero chance someone might get electrocuted if I’m not inclined to be handy and attempt to fix things just with available service manuals and YouTube videos.
Here I’m only really speaking to incentive, when you start disassembly often the first thing you’re met with are warnings. Likewise speaking to friends and family members etc
People should try, yes. But, you stake the cost of parts against your ability, repairs take time, being cautious takes time.
When someone hasnt already started repairing your shit these are the things that disincline people from starting.
That is what I thought. And then I tried to replace the swollen battery on my old Surface Book 1. It’s already garbage, might as well try to replace the screen and battery, right? One punctured lithium ion battery later, I think that’s about the extent of my ‘trying to fix things’ adventure.
I’m very pro-repair and DIY and keeping things out of landfills, but at a certain point, the skills/mastery needed outweigh any benefits of trying to DIY/learn/etc. Sometimes it really is best left to the experts (or not at all, as in the case of the Surface Book).
I had my washer 75% disassembled after it shat the bed last year. Was 90% sure what part failed and spewed oil everywhere, which would have necessitated 90% disassembly. The part was half as much as a new washer, and I had absolutely no way to effectively clean the outer bucket. The icing on the cake was disassembly showing how utterly inadequate water flow was under the agitator, with mold rampant despite regular tub cleans and leaving the lid open all when not in use. I felt bad buying a new washer instead of repairing, but the old one (which was still pretty new) was a piece of shit.
Depends on how long it will take and what value your time has. Replacing the door gasket in an LG washer is somewhat ridiculous. To get lint out of the heating element on their dryers even more so.
You might think that’s no excuse but I’m not fucking with anything running on mains electricity. Thanks, but I like living and not setting the house on fire.
