Comment by WesolyKubeczek
1 day ago
Ah, Miele.
When after some time the water pump on my 2014 Miele dishwasher gave up the ghost, I had a look at their parts catalogue. I had mixed feelings.
On one hand, they still produce parts for things they sold in 2008, maybe even earlier, I was looking for a pump. Very repair-friendly, very anti-ewaste. Kudos.
On the other hand, for the price they have of that pump and labor, I could buy a perfectly serviceable new midrange Bosch thing. Which I, after a short inner struggle, did. After all, the pump may have been the tip of an iceberg of more costly repairs. It's a real Apple or Porsche of home appliances — it costs a lot when you buy it, and then it keeps costing you later.
But maybe this knowledge is going to be handy with the Miele fridge I still have...
Some people love the fact that they have old appliances still running fine. I have my grandma Siemens fridge, 30 years old, still running fine. On one hand, a more efficient fridge would cost less money on the long run, but on the other hand i'm afraid to buy a lemon. So I'm patiently waiting for my Siemens to die
> On one hand, a more efficient fridge would cost less money on the long run, but on the other hand i'm afraid to buy a lemon. So I'm patiently waiting for my Siemens to die
There's a piece of wisdom about cars and appliances that unless there's some egregious defect that turns it into infinite money sink, the least costly (and in fact the most environmentally friendly) option is to run the one you currently have until it disintegrates. Because the price of a new one is usually like your electrical bill for the current one over multiple years, adjusted for inflation and price hikes.
There are of course exceptions, but rules of thumb are never 100%.
I have a 30-year-old Frigidaire upright freezer in my basement. I'd been assuming for a while that it's wasting power due to leaked refrigerant or some such, but I borrowed a power logger from work, and whadda ya know: it's actually reasonably efficient.
The thermostat is dying, so I picked up one of those thermostat plugs with a probe on a wire. Gonna keep it as long as I can. (Plus it's the perfect size for its space, and they don't make that size any more.)
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This is the thing, the day they stop working you wonder if you should repair them for X money or byy a new one for X / 1.5 money. Guess which wins in both time and money.
> repair them for X money
Plus (X / 1.5) * (1 - S), where S is probability of successful repair.
Plus the repair cost of the next thing to go if many parts are reaching the end of the design life (= warranty * 1.1)
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All Miele refrigerators (at least currently) are made by Liebherr.
Could you actually buy those parts? Miele started locking down their parts to just registered Miele repair centres a few years ago, making a mockery of the right-to-repair movement (and slipping a big middle finger to business which repair a variety of brands, not exclusively Miele).
I had to call a repair guy, but first I needed to check with Miele's call center if a part was available. Replacement of the refrigerator door gaskets cost me roughly an equivalent of $400.