I'm so mad. I want my money back!

1. 65

   aka-djposted 15 years ago

   I can't believe it! My alarm clock/radio stopped working today! It only lasted 30 years. I want warranty! I want my money back!
   Actually, if I did get my money back, I doubt it would be much I don't even remeber how much I paid that long ago. The truth is, it still works, but not as an alarm, just clock and radio.
   Really, though, how good is that? 30 yrs? I wonder how long the new one will last?
   Have you any stories of unexpected results with things you have purchased?

   replyreport
2. 66

   darksideposted 15 years ago

   The new one will probably last 11 and a half months.
   
   And I salute your old alarm clock. It did well.
   
   I had an old fan, one with metal blades and the chrome 'guard' around it with gaps big enough to fit your fist through. I actually found it on the side of the road a few years ago. It still went. In fact it lasted for another year but died due to a short in the wiring of the house we were living in. I don't think the fan itself caused it. But I got a lot of good use out of it. I wish I had it for the first 30 or so years of its life.

   replyreport
3. 79

   JamaGeneeposted 15 years ago

   I once paid a lot for a toaster, more than I normally do.  Established name brand, should've worked forever.  Went kaput 31 days later (one day after store's return period ended, imagine that). Went to WallyWorld, bought a $6 cheapie to tide me over until I could get a better one.  That was 7 years ago and it still works like a charm.  Go figure.

   replyreport
4. 79

   JamaGeneeposted 15 years ago

   Want to add I've had the best luck with Things That Last A Long Time at yard sales in "good" neighborhoods.  My thought being if it doesn't work very long, I've only paid $1 for it, so I'm always surprised that these are the things that last "forever".
   
   And for what it's worth, I still use my mother's waffle iron that by the looks of it was made in the 1930s.  Chrome, Art Deco-ish. It's at least as old as I am (I was a 'surprise' baby after my parents had been married 15 years). Has a separate power cord that looks like it should be #1 on a poster for fire hazards, but I've never had any shorts or blown fuses from it.  They knew how to make 'em back then, that's for sure!

   replyreport
5. 0

   C. C. Riterposted 15 years ago

   I only hope my pacemaker/defibrillator batteries last more than the expected due date. I don't want cut on again, also hope my abdominal stent lasts 30 years. both of these implants cost over 250,000 bucks. not yer typical Wally World stuff here.

   replyreport
   1. 65

      aka-djposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      
      You won't find one of them at a yard sale. Much less for $1

      replyreport
6. 0

   C. C. Riterposted 15 years ago

   haha, not hardly. i told my wife when I'm gone to sell it, the pacemaker, on Ebay. haha

   replyreport
   1. 65

      aka-djposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      My dad just had a defib.implanted 6weeks ago. Cost, about $20,000.00 + operation costs. (Covered by Medicare)

      replyreport
      1. 0

         C. C. Riterposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         That's not  bad. Mine is 3 wire and it took him 7 hours to get it installed. My veins are just shot, too tiny he said. It will have to come out when I'm cremated, it would explode, so i just wonder what they will do with it. hmmm

         replyreport
         1. 65

            aka-djposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            HHMMM all right.
            Maybe there's an untapped market for second-hand(er...heart) uses.
            Sorry, can't help myself

            replyreport
7. 0

   C. C. Riterposted 15 years ago

   I don't know, i was just joking tho', haha would  be funny tho'. hah

   replyreport
8. 60

   TravelMonkeyposted 15 years ago

   I guess that a lot of auto nuts would have had motors that have out lived their life expectancy.

   replyreport
   1. 65

      aka-djposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      In the context of this thread, these mtors would have had to run (like forever) without ANY intervention, (ie. repairs or mods). Now that would be something!!!

      replyreport
      1. 59

         Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I run a 17 year old Renault Clio that has not had an oil change in 11 years.
         
         It is just about dead and I am much pissed that I now need to buy another car.

         replyreport
         1. 79

            JamaGeneeposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Might run little longer if ya'd change the oil... 

            replyreport
      2. 79

         JamaGeneeposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         A neighbor bought a brand-new Ford back in the 70's and meticulously adhered to the recommended maintenance schedule.  Had it for 10 years without having to replace *any* parts except spark plugs and oil filter, etc.  Also kept the interior spotless, no dings on the outside, no wrecks. In other words, even though it had 200,000+ miles on the odometer, it was technically in the same condition as when he drove it off the showroom floor.  Ford was so impressed, they bought it back for a bit more than he paid for it, to use in a traveling showcase of models from different eras.

         replyreport
9. 69

   cindyvineposted 15 years ago

   My lovely 1 month old dvd player packed up yesterday.  I love Chinese quality!

   replyreport
10. 57

    rmshdcposted 15 years ago

    I got one WIFE about 19 years back.  Surprisingly still she is the same sweet and lovable.  And as a bonus, now I have two cute growing up kids!
    
    All other things I purchased, isn’t working as it should be.  I have changed my computer 4 times in past 13 years and the next change is due now.

    replyreport
    1. 65

       aka-djposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       I'd have to give you the prize (if there was one) for top response (so far). Love it.
       Mine got better over the (nearly) 30yrs.

       replyreport
11. 80

    Bard of Elyposted 15 years ago

    Yes, I have - I bought a green jumper back in 1969 and another Fairisle woollen tanktop same year. Both had been worn many many times and were still going strong in 2004 when I left them at my father's house in Wales thinking I wouldn't need them in Tenerife. On that score I was wrong but I wasn't wrong with my choice of clothes to buy all those years ago. Modern clothes in my experience lose buttons, become so thin after a short time they rip, lose their colour and fall apart and are nowhere near as good as clothes from the 60s and 70s!

    replyreport
12. 81

    LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

    My Granny bought a washing machine in 1978, and used it for the rest of her life. It's currently in my parents' country house, and going strong!

    replyreport
13. 61

    Colebabieposted 15 years ago

    My parents bought me a Toshiba laptop for high school graduation.. It stopped working halfway through finals second semester. I also got a Toshiba TV for my birthday around the same time, it now shuts off whenever it feels like it. I've "fixed" it a couple times, I refuse to buy another one.  I'm done with Toshiba. I now sport a Mac. Three years, never had a problem.
    
    I also had a blender catch on fire once. Oh that was fun. I was so shocked my boyfriend ran over and unplugged it and brought it on the patio.
    
    I had a blow-dryer that started sparking one day. Never caught my hair on fire. I tossed that one out real fast.
    
    My car is still workin' strong. It's a 2001 so it's really not old. But it's a Ford I've replaced a few parts (solenoid, sensor, and a valve). But it looks in really good shape.

    replyreport
14. 62

    Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

    Now that I'm thinking about this, I think most things I've ever bought prior to, say, the last five years, still work.  (In the last five years I've found myself buying some super-cheap/super-great-deal type of things, only to discover they're junk slapped together without any quality standards (I'm trying to polite about this fairly recent development of lots of cheap products with cheap labor.)
    
    Other than those more recent mistakes, I do have some exceptions to the "everything-I-ever-bought" statement:
    
    Coffee makers - It's a rare one that lasts me more than two years. Of course, my coffee makers are used about 40 times more than everyone else's are.
    
    Watches - They don't really belong here, because they'd work if I'd change the batteries, but for some reason I consider a watch "broken" once the battery wears out.  It has something to do with my "I can't be bothered with something so small" kind of thinking, or "I can't remember something so small when I'm shopping."
    
    Window Fans or Other Fans - I like fans over the AC much of the time. The basic fans (not the higher-end ones) don't seem to last more than two years, as far as I can see.
    
    Gas hot-water heaters - For some reason, and no matter where I've lived, I always seem to be replacing more of these than one would think is reasonable.   

    replyreport