Older appliances may cost more to run but it’s possible they pay themselves off by virtue of not having to re-buy them every few years.
Speculation, of course. I wonder if anyone’s done the math on this.
- energy loss in resource extraction and refinement (steel, aluminum, plastic, etc, etc)
- manufacturing energy use
- shipping energy use
- disposal energy costs of old device (including recycling costs)
- all the pollution in the above, versus pollution from local energy sources
It's entirely possible that an energy efficient fridge that lasts 2 years, could cost more energy than a fridge from the 60s that keeps on running.
So outside of "cash cost" even the energy cost may be higher!
Of course, this was almost a decade ago, so the numbers might have changed; and a newer device would have an automatic defroster.
Most new appliances seem to be replacing perfectly functional but outdated appliances in my experience helping people move them. The exception being washers and dryers, but they tend to get mistreated by the owners so it's reasonable that they have a shorter life.