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Comment by yarcob | Hacker News Reader

It's a pity that this law has apparently been so watered down, and basically just cements the status quo. Spares for dishwashers and washing machines are already available, and 10 years doesn't really sound that long for big appliances.

I don't see whether the law addresses the problem of overpriced spares. For example, I don't see why an original Miele heating element for a washing machine costs 100€, while an unbranded compatible part costs less than 20€.

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I can understand (in a very vague, general sense) why spare parts might be relatively expensive – it's probably fairly expensive to make, store, and maintain a distribution network for the parts, i.e. the price isn't just for the price of the part, but the entire system (e.g. customer support) to send it to a customer in response to their request. I'm _sure_ there's also an 'original manufacturer' premium too, and maybe that _is_ in fact most of the difference compared to 'unbranded compatible' parts.

Auto manufacturers manage this quite well. Some more than others, but if you bought something like a Honda or a Toyota back in the '80s or '90s, you can still find affordable OEM parts for it today, and the manufacturer will still service things like electronics clusters.

Why not expect something similar from a much simpler and less dangerous $1-10k appliance?

Spare parts are expensive because they’re priced to willingness to pay which is usually “if it’s significantly less to repair than replace, repair”. $100 part + $200 labor is cheaper than a new $500 machine. Repair let’s tend to have much much higher margin for manufacturers than the original machine.

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