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Comment by MostlyStable | Hacker News Reader

I know that relative to the size of the whole market, the number of consumers interested enough in repairing their stuff to consider it when purchasing is small, but does anyone know of any places that actually include both ease of repair and availability of parts in their review system?

iFixit it does it for a small subset of electronics, but I'd love to be able to find the equivalent for things like power tools, kitchen tools, appliances, etc.

Does Consumer Reports check this? I know they do reliability, but do they include repair? I think I'd be willing to pay if there was a reputable place I could check. Especially if it was possible to see if there are particular brands that are generally good about this (which might help decide in the case that a specific product isn't yet assessed).

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The article mentions the the French indice de réparabilité, but it's not perfect (and you need to speak French).

> For some products, the French indice de réparabilité can help you take this into account, in order to choose a washing machine that scores 10/10 for spare parts price instead of one that scores 2,5/10, or a TV that scores 7,5/10 instead of one that scores 0/10.(7) However, you cannot search for or filter products by spare parts score on any website. You have to check them one by one by reviewing the scoring grid, which may not even be available online—although the seller is legally required to provide it upon request.

This is the website: https://www.indicereparabilite.fr/

Ah yes, the repair score. Where something practically disposable like a Samsung foldable device (where you just can't do anything without destroying the main screen) scores a whopping 8/10 ( https://cdn.woopic.com/c10f167280f2414abb346a5347e1ecd9/prod... ) , while something like the Fairphone scores just one extra point at 9/10.

For comparison, iFixit gave the Fold a 2/10, and the Fairphone a 10/10.

The problem with phones is the chipset software support. You can make the most repairable phone but when they both get the same length of support it helps less.

I think the best way to find repairable and long lived products is to buy commercial grade when possible or look at what gets used by contractors. The types of things that get used in commercial settings or pro use tend to be a lot more repairable and durable than the consumer equivalents. Definitely more expensive though.

There are tools I use a lot like my cordless drill and the main thing that goes is the battery which can be easily replaced.

But there are a ton of tools I use once in a blue moon and probably aren't worth spending a premium on.

I use a backpack vacuum cleaner for this reason. I did a bit of cleaning work for pocket money when I was in uni, and the backpack vacuums were a revelation. I don't need a cordless vacuum, because it doesn't offer much of an advantage over what I already have, and what I have actually cost substantially less.

Caveat: contractors are also into disposables in some cases. I had a conversation with our electrician the other day, and he told me there are tools he invests in, and very similar - to a layman like me - tools he buys absolutely the cheapest brand, because he knows the latter are going to get damaged regardless of quality, so he treats them as consumables.

I found Dyson vacuum cleaners to be harder to get into than an iPhone. Awful plastic that you need to be very careful with.

Dyson is just the worst and probably what the author of this article had in mind. A replacement AC adapter for the battery charger is already 1/4 of the price of the entire vacuum cleaner set (which includes vacuum, battery, charger, and AC adapter).

Cordless vacuums are selling a marginal improvement over what backpack vacuums could already do decades ago. An 18m cord, and not having to lug the floor unit around, already gives you most of the advantage of cordless, at half the cost, and it'll last twice as long.

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