Comment by rixed

1 day ago

Serviceability by owner is less and less important as fewer and fewer owners actually do maintenance themselves, though.

Even if 100% of owners choose to pay someone else to do it, they are still benefiting from the user-serviceable standard.

First, anything serviceable by the owner is also accessible to a local garage or independent repair shop. That means a competitive market for those owners, rather that being stuck paying extra to a local monopoly or to a rent-seeking manufacturer.

Second, it makes long-term repairability of the product much easier, things don't just suddenly become irreparable because the manufacturer closed down their "unlock codes for trusted affiliates" site. Their asset retains more of its value.

There are things which provide value even when nobody uses them.