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I own this TV set a VCR/DVD Combo, had it for a long time that it still has not died out 100%. I'm wondering just how long it will last me until I gota replace it.
What about you, what items do you still have after having it for years?
It will last exactly until you have spent all your available money on other stuff + one day. Appliances are like that. You can make it last a year longer than that if you keep a baseball bat visible and threaten it from time to time.
My old 24 inch tube tv is still running and it's over 15 yrs old now. My Plasma is around 5 yrs or so. I have an old Dell laptop that is 10 yrs or older. Still can surf the net. My current PC is around 7-8 yrs old. Still running strong. My home theater system and PS 3 is about the same age as my Plasma.
As for my other things such as my Whirlpool top loader washer/dryer about 14 yrs old and I've thing I ever did was change out the washer dogs on the washer. My GE fridge is around age too and still going strong. My reliable 1998 Camry is still running like a champ like the first day I bought it in 2001; though the paint/coating is now peeling off like crazy. Original engine and Transmission, just your usual maintenance.
I usually like use it till it breaks down or too expensive to fix.
It seems that things in my house have a life span of 12-15 years. Have had to replace garb disposer, fridge, microwave, water heater, wash machine, AC/heat thermostat. Mr Coffee & food fryer, thermostat quit on both.
VCR on/off button quit working, replaced with DVD-R/VCR combo, AV receiver- rear speakers quit then on/off button, had to spend a lot of money to get a new one with phono in, Sat. receiver remote. One day, half the numbers and chan up/down stopped working.
I live in a very high amounts of lighting in the summer. Have replaced phone ans machine 4 times.
Pc 3 years ago- pcb on hard drive fried. XP to 7
The electronic products is updated very quickly, specially for the mobile phone and PC. I just replace my old cell phone last month which has been used for 3 years. As for my notebook which i bought when i was sophomore. Now i still use it and it works well.
I still use a 3rd Gen iPod from 2003 or so. The battery is done, but its still being used in my work room. I have a Dell laptop from 2005 that is still running (albeit rarely used).
The oldest electronic equipment I currently have is a LaserDisc player from 1991. I actually took that from my parents when they were cleaning the house.
I think for the most part, most of these thing becomes obsolete before they actually die. Aside from a Sony Blu-Ray player, I can't recall the last time an electronic component died while in use. The first flat panel TV I got (2007) is now hanging in the basement... unused.
It will last exactly until you have spent all your available money on other stuff + one day. Appliances are like that. You can make it last a year longer than that if you keep a baseball bat visible and threaten it from time to time.
I want to see the spider that made them. Or maybe I don't.
"Last" isn't necessarily descriptive of how long something is useful. Yes, many people have TVs for 15, 20, 25+ years. But how often have they been used in the last 2/3 of that time? I had a 20" Sony TV that had been on 10+ hours a day, nearly every day, in a country club, for several years before it came my way. It sat for a while, unused, before I put it on a bracket in my garage. It had an OK picture but was definitely showing a lot of age. I used it about 10 hours a year for 12 years, then gave it to a neighbor. He used it a week and it died. So it lasted ~20 years, but for much of that it was hardly used, and the pic wasn't that great.
My bedroom TV lasted 20 years, but due to a bad cap would narrow down to a small line across the screen for the last few years. Repeated beatings would bring the pic back to nearly full size. But to say it lasted 20 years is misleading, IMO.
For me phones don't last as long as I might be inclined to use them, because I'm hard on things like that. If I used an MP3 player it would suffer the same fate, I'm sure. I seldom keep audio gear mroe than a couple years, but of what I have kept, like amps and speakers, some are 15+ years old and working as new.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I never keep a phone beyond the contract date, the improvements when upgrading are well worth the low price. We have two of those TV/VCR units that still work great but have no use for them anymore, with all the VHS tapes converted to digital. We keep them as desperation backups in a closet. The newest TV will play videos, music and display pictures from a flash drive, or DVD using the Blueray.Our oldest TV is probably 12 or so, in the bedroom and is a little dim but it doesn't matter for nighttime. We no longer use the MP3 players since the phones do the same thing now, and even the newest car plays MP3s from a flash drive or via bluetooth from the phone.
Ever since electronics went away from tubes the same rule of thumb has applied. They work until they dont. That could be 1yr or 25 years or anything in between.
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