Intermountain no longer servicing non-warranty items

[Maletrain]

If you guys have ever looked at old farm properties, you will recognize where the expression "over the hill" comes from.  In the "old days" when people had more land, they had their own junk heaps for stuff that they could no longer repair.  Those piles were put in places that were out of sight from the main house, where they did not have to mow around them.  Sometimes it was literally just on the other side of a hill from the house, where it was not visible from an upstairs window.  But, more often it seems to have been in the nearest ravine, where it was quickly covered with vines a and dead leaves.

Anyway, our ancestors also seem to have thrown away a lot of dead appliances. 

But, today, appliances don't seem to last as long, are not as easy to repair, and there is nowhere left to just dump them at home.  Often, a large conglomeration of metal and machinery is rendered useless by the failure of a small electronic chip that is unique to that appliance and no longer made.  The "new" version that you need to buy comes with the version X+1 chip, and the version X chip cannot be replaced by that in the "old" model appliance.

It seems obvious that a little forethought and standardization could avoid a lot of waste and lost investments by consumers.  But, unless some manufacturer thinks that reliability and repairability are good selling features to use against the competition, we aren't going to get that choice.  The profit motive seems to force planned unreliability for increase sales of "new" replacement products.  The U.S. auto manufacturers took that to the point where they lost sales to Japanese manufacturers.  Hoping that Kato can keep the rest of the model railroad industry from "going off the rails" in the same direction.

[CBQ Fan]

If you guys have ever looked at old farm properties, you will recognize where the expression "over the hill" comes from.  In the "old days" when people had more land, they had their own junk heaps for stuff that they could no longer repair.  Those piles were put in places that were out of sight from the main house, where they did not have to mow around them.  Sometimes it was literally just on the other side of a hill from the house, where it was not visible from an upstairs window.  But, more often it seems to have been in the nearest ravine, where it was quickly covered with vines a and dead leaves.

Anyway, our ancestors also seem to have thrown away a lot of dead appliances. 

But, today, appliances don't seem to last as long, are not as easy to repair, and there is nowhere left to just dump them at home.  Often, a large conglomeration of metal and machinery is rendered useless by the failure of a small electronic chip that is unique to that appliance and no longer made.  The "new" version that you need to buy comes with the version X+1 chip, and the version X chip cannot be replaced by that in the "old" model appliance.

It seems obvious that a little forethought and standardization could avoid a lot of waste and lost investments by consumers.  But, unless some manufacturer thinks that reliability and repairability are good selling features to use against the competition, we aren't going to get that choice.  The profit motive seems to force planned unreliability for increase sales of "new" replacement products.  The U.S. auto manufacturers took that to the point where they lost sales to Japanese manufacturers.  Hoping that Kato can keep the rest of the model railroad industry from "going off the rails" in the same direction.

I have had this discussion many times with my son.  Companies that are in the business of selling products are incentivized to sell their inventory, not parts to fix what they sold in the past.  It makes him really mad and I understand where he is coming from, but business is business. People want their products at the cheapest price possible and all this eco friendly sustainability is not cheap.  It is easier when you don’t have a lot of competition, but markets with many competitors it only takes a couple to not play by the altruistic rules to drive the rest out of business.

I have a local Maytag place who won’t service appliances not  purchased by them. Which I get except for the fact I bought my refrigerator prior to moving.  So I am much less likely to buy from him in the future. He advertises himself as a Maytag repair business, where you buy it from should be irrelevant. Now I know warranty claims are governed by where you purchase the item, or so I have been told.

[Point353]

I have a local Maytag place who won’t service appliances not  purchased by them. Which I get except for the fact I bought my refrigerator prior to moving.  So I am much less likely to buy from him in the future. He advertises himself as a Maytag repair business, where you buy it from should be irrelevant. Now I know warranty claims are governed by where you purchase the item, or so I have been told.

Maybe he could offer two different repair rates - a lower rate if you bought the appliance from him, and a higher rate if you bought it elsewhere.
That's still not quite fair to someone who is new to the area and brought their appliances with them, but at least it would give you an option for service.

[CBQ Fan]

Maybe he could offer two different repair rates - a lower rate if you bought the appliance from him, and a higher rate if you bought it elsewhere.
That's still not quite fair to someone who is new to the area and brought their appliances with them, but at least it would give you an option for service.

I would agree on both accounts.

[mmagliaro]

I buy old parts for my washer and dryer, you can get them parts just about anywhere.

Yes, if you have a 20 year old solid mechanical washer and dryer (like the Whirlpools I have, and I assume you have something similar).  If you have something like the snappy-looking heavy-electronics LG and other "modern" washer/dryer machines, not so much.
... which is why I keep the old ones and just put parts in them.  They are simple, solid, and easy to keep running... like a Kato Mikado.

[JMaurer1]

But, today, appliances don't seem to last as long, are not as easy to repair, and there is nowhere left to just dump them at home.  Often, a large conglomeration of metal and machinery is rendered useless by the failure of a small electronic chip that is unique to that appliance and no longer made.  The "new" version that you need to buy comes with the version X+1 chip, and the version X chip cannot be replaced by that in the "old" model appliance.

It seems obvious that a little forethought and standardization could avoid a lot of waste and lost investments by consumers.  But, unless some manufacturer thinks that reliability and repairability are good selling features to use against the competition, we aren't going to get that choice.  The profit motive seems to force planned unreliability for increase sales of "new" replacement products.  The U.S. auto manufacturers took that to the point where they lost sales to Japanese manufacturers.  Hoping that Kato can keep the rest of the model railroad industry from "going off the rails" in the same direction.

Appliances and most other stuff we buy, is not designed to be repaired. If a company makes a product that doesn't ever break and never needs repairing, then they sell one to a person and that's it. Eventually you sell one to everyone who needs that product (if you are lucky) and you are out of business. As I recall, the example was a cast iron cookware company. As long as you took care of the cast iron, it was good...forever. Never needed to buy more, and the company eventually went out of business (don't remember the name of the company, but just look at all the vintage cast iron sold at that auction site). These days, obsolescence is built into the product and spare parts are so expensive that it is usually cheaper to replace them. I believe that cell phones are actually PROGRAMMED to work slower after 2-3 years (so you will upgrade...ask Apple about this one). However, I expect a decent amount of running time from my hobby purchases. Out of all of the engines that I have bought, my IM cab forwards have been the most expensive, poorest runners, and biggest disappointments. If someone else would have made a cab forward, I would have bought one from them and not IM...since IM is the only company that produced them, then I expect it to at least run reliably for awhile (which they haven't). Of course that could also be why they don't have any spare parts...

[Carolina Northern]

In my previous life - when I worked, I remember a discussion with an overseas supplier. We were considering carrying their product. The topic of spare parts for repairs came up and the reply was "No fix - Buy new".

We passed on that deal, but it shows the mentality.

Don

[peteski]

Back in the day, most appliances came with a parts diagrams and schematics packed inside them for the service person to use during the repairs.
But as appliances got more complex, and with fewer companies that actually can dispatch skilled and capable repair people to fix them at home declining, appliances have become disposable.