Throw away society is not that new. We just have selective memories and fail to recollect all old stuff that broke easily before.

As a generalization, I reckon my parents generation were a lot better at eking the last ounce of life out of something, anything, than my generation are, and the way things are going, I reckon my kids generation are going to be even worse. For instance,and at the risk of straying off into another thread, how often, do folk get their shoes resoled rather than buy a new pair? Not as often now as when we were kids, I'll wager............

Don't you mean you love yet another thread on this subject?

That's also to do with the relative price of "stuff" then and now.

There's been a previous thread discussing washing machines?

Why anyone would even consider a top loader is beyond me. When we came to the U.S. 19 years ago front loaders where few and far between. Now they are everywhere and seem more popular than top loaders. There's a reason for that!

And the relative cost of labour and services charges. ...... Never again will I pay $65 for a service call on an out-of-warranty fridge that I can replace for $400.

Yes, things probably break at about the same rate yet now we are much more comfortable just going out to buy a new one. After all the pace of change usually makes the newer ones more efficient or have more features.

I hear TV repair man used to be quite a busy career.

Pulaski notwithstanding, the "Make do and mend" generation of war time austerity has largely passed.

It did, because electronics were very unreliable, which of course isn't the case anymore. Repairmen often had their own rental businesses too, and I know a couple that became seriously wealthy.

i think that's what I said at the top of the page.....

+100 to this.

Top loader people are _insane_.

The funny thing is, that while many things in and around US houses don't last as well as things seem to in the UK, I find that it is quite easy to get spares and parts to fix them myself. Lowes stocks all manner of parts and components for fixed various taps and valves, such that I rarely call on the services of a plumber. Parts for appliances and yard machines are readily available on-line, up to and including replacement engines for mowers and other machines.

I am contemplating, as I write, how I am going to fix a stopcock for a downstairs toilet that is soldered on to a very short stub of copper pipe protruding from the wall. ...... I can't cut it off to replace it, so I will have to take the stem and washer out of it, ..... either way I will need to turn the water off to the whole house, but when I dismantle the stopcock all the cold water in the plumbing for the bathrooms upstairs is likely to drain out of the system through the dismantled stopcock.

Mostly because they are cheap, otherwise if one can afford it, front loaders would be my preference.

If shopping by price, have not seen a front loader anywhere near a top loader price wise.

And of course some people just don't like change so they stick with what they know.

We only have a top loader (no agitator though.) as they don't appear to make front loaders in small sizes that can wheel into a closet and hook up to a kitchen sink.

Goods have become cheaper, while labor has become more costly. Fixing appliances rarely makes sense these days.

For example, a low-end refrigerator during the early 1950s cost about $1,700 in 2015 dollars -- you can buy the modern equivalent of that now for a fraction of the money. If you had to pay $2,000 for a basic fridge, you'd call a repairman, too.

Here in the Philippines front loaders are very expensive - whirlpool or electrolux are around $1200. Top loaders are the norm, from cheap $100 plasticky ones to $700 for the LG 12KG we bought. Has 10 year warranty on the direct drive motor, no agitator - whole base moves and drum also rotates. Washes fine,spins nearly dry, can do a load in 30 mins or just over 1 hour on the "fuzzy logic" setting.No tangling of clothes either.
We always had front loaders in UK and our last one was also LG, 8 KG load, worked beautifully and very quiet on spin, but could not take large items such as curtains - sorry, drapes for our US cousins- except one by one.
If our top loader lasts 10 years I'll be extremely pleased!
Generally, modern appliances do not last and are not easily repairable economically - our original Hoover cylinder vacuum cleaner was built like a tank and is still doing sterling service at a local volunteer bureau back in UK so it's at least 45 years old! Companies would not survive if they made things today that lasted that long , they need you to renew every few years. Back in the 50's and 60's the penetration of things like washing machines was quite low - 10/15% - so there was a large potential market to sell to. Now, penetration is nearer 90% and the same applies to many other appliances we take for granted nowadays.