You can’t beat the old appliances but thankfully our modern Bosch washing machine is still going strong after 4 years.
First Hoover washing maching circa 1976 did us proud getting well into double figures with just renewing the motor brushes a few times. My father had the same make/model so when he decided to have a new one I kept his old one going a few more years, that did need a new motor though.
We then bought a new Hoover brand and you get to like the brand but it didn’t last that long so moved on to Hotpoint. Again it seemed to give up and you just say ah well I’ll renew.
Far and away the worse machine has been the Indesit. Control module replaced after 14 months (out of warranty) at a cost £80, that part lasted 11 months it went again. It was replaced under warranty as the fitted gave us 12 months on parts and labour, Spanish made apparently. That very same replacement part gave up after after 15 months, I took it off myself to inspect.
After looking at the cost of replacing it myself my OH said noooo! I want the heap of c*** out of here.
The Bosch has been a delight for her to use, sometimes she has to go check it’s still working it’s so quiet. Not like the other agricultural sounding things we’ve had in the past.
Nilfisk cylinder vacuum, purchased circa 1984. Weighs a ton! Works as new. All attachments fine. Could still suck a Saturn V up in the air.
Sony Cube radio alarm clock bought around 1978, works as new bar auto dimmer.
A&R Cambridge amplifier circa 1988. Perfect bar two condensers renewed…about 25 years back.
Thorens TD 160 & SME Improved arm, Audio Technica moving coil, circa 1978, perfect…think it got a drive belt around 20 years back.
Lots of other little things over 45 years in loft that are off to a sale room this year…all perfect.
Stuff we buy today is nowhere near designed to last.
^^^ I forgot about our Oreck vacuum, it must be over 20 years old. One new brush bar and a couple of rubber bands it’s still a good sucker upper.
Got a Kirby Heritage 2 vacuum cleaner that’s now around 40 years old. Lots of new and used spares available, have occasionally had to order parts from the US. Best part, they are made with metal and bolted together. Can be easily stripped down with basic hand tool. Weighs a ton but solid as a rock. A few new mains cables but they plug in via a kettle type connector so that’s an easy job. Apart from that mainly belts that need changing. Even got the original hose from 40 years ago. Ludicrously priced new and I wouldn’t recommend going down that route. However I bought a used one in need of some TLC and a few parts for my Sister in law. Bought for around £40 and spent about the same restoring it.
My next door neighbour was a Kirby salesman, he didn’t give me the hard sell but arranged his area boss to pitch up and try.
End of me being interested was his attitude and appearance, if you’ve ever seen Swiss Toni in that comedy show, nuff said, he turned up in a Jag too. 
I know exactly what you mean. I well remember the sales patter and demonstration. Wouldn’t have normally fallen for anything like that but at the time we had moved into a new house and painted the hall stairs and landing brilliant white with a bright red (something like classic red) carpet right through. Looked good to us at the time but we had a ginger cat. Cat hairs wouldn’t budge. We had the full demonstration as per the sales staff manual after which I said ‘If it will get the hairs off that carpet I’ll buy it’. One sweep and they were gone. Still can’t honestly say it was good value but as we are still using it 40 years later we can’t really complain. Not long since anybody who was anyone just had to have a Dyson. Plenty of those ‘spares or repair’ on eBay with burnt out motors and broken plastic parts.
A vacuum cleaner is like a woman…
I knew a car salesman like that too. He was the spitting image of Imran Khan, had all the bling, big gold rings, mohair suit. He was actually a great salesman and had time for you, no hard sell. I must have bought around 3 cars off him. He worked for the local Nissan dealership, I would never deal with anyone else there. He moved on to the large national Bristol street but I didn’t like it there so started looking elsewhere for my cars.
My best mate had various jobs over the years. Aerial photography being one of them in a Cessna, then off selling the results. He too was a Kirby saleman. IIRC at one point you could even get a hair cutting attatchment, would be handy at the moment 
He once sold one to a spinster, she said it was too heavy to lug up the stairs and was deliberating on actually purchasing one? He offered her a solution, buy two and keep one on the second floor! She actually did buy two!! He was salesman of the month! 
Barrie
I’m probably tempting fate here, but maybe I’ve been lucky.
Meile washing machine, now nearly 20 years old and never been touched.
Toaster? Can’t beat a Dualit. Now 15 years old and works like new. Designed to be repaired and spares are available. Plus it looks like an Airstream caravan.
JS
I’ve got a 20 year old Hotpoint First Edition washing machine which works OK 
but the front panel under the detergent drawer is reminiscent of the wheel arches on a sick NB 
A reluctant crumpet eh? I knew a woman like that once. If she didn’t want to come out I wouldn’t resort to using a knife though…
Did you butter her up instead?
Or snuggle up together so your nice and toastie ?
Can’t beat a Dualit Toaster had ours going on 7 years, perfect toast eveytime. Had our Mk1 MX5 even longer, wouldn’t change that either!
I hated this when it charted, and even more now.
Yep, a boring load of cr*p, I loved the 70s, but there really was some sh**te music around , funky moped , the wombling song, jilted John etc, 
I would prefer to listen to them rather than this modern ©Rap, at least there was variety in their rhythms and sounds etc., this modern sh…e just seem to use 2 or 3 variations of the same “Bass” line with some “D-jay” (Dumb Jerk) from a street gang chanting insults, obscenities and threats to others.
PS: This “drum and bass” they use is only a computer generated loop. Crass crape!!!
Agree, I hate some of the modern chanting street crp as well, its seems musical crp has no boundaries 
, each to his own I suppose.