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Comment by ip26 | Hacker News Reader

My first exposure to this - tired of $40 particleboard bookshelves and tables, I went looking for solid wood furniture, reasoning it was fine to spend a little more for something that would last. I found it- and discovered humble, small tables were a months pay.

I don't want cheap crap, but I suddenly appreciated why we've moved away from tables that can support a car.

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This is true of basically everything people complain about having gotten worse over time.

Whiteware and kitchen appliances are the same - you can absolutely buy a fridge, or a stand mixer or whatever that will work well and last forever. It's just the value proposition compared to cheap crap that will still likely last for a few years but at a 1/5th of the price is not great unless you're going to use it really heavily.

Last time I had to buy a refrigerator it seemed like the choice was between one that cost around $1k and one that cost $10k. I really couldn't find a mid quality option. There wasn't a price point at around 2x the cheap ones for better quality. Those price points exist, it's just that they're usually the same cheap fridges crammed full of pointless features that actually make the whole thing less reliable because it's more stuff to break.

What I wanted was a refrigerator with a reliable compressor. That's where it really seemed like the only options are cheap and astronomical.

Compressor is replaceable. Also, how do you judge reliability of a compressor before buying it?

Instead, try to find a refrigerator with access to the cooling pipes. Last fridge I threw away had a leak that couldn't be patched because the pipes were all embedded in the plastic walls of the fridge.

>how do you judge reliability of a compressor before buying it?

Reviews, specs, teardowns, brand name.

Where do you find reviews you can trust? Honest question

Yeah I think the caveat is that the compressor and maybe seals, lights and few other bits are the ONLY repairable parts of most fridges. The whole structure of a modern fridge is foam panels and sheet metal folds that aren't ever meant to come apart after being assembled.

That's funny, just about a year ago, I had to replace a dead fridge and ended up with a reliable $3000-ish model. It's been great. GE PWE23KYNFS

https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-Profile-ENERGY-STA...

This is actually super helpful! I ended up with a less expensive GE model because it seemed like they were the only brand with positive reliability reports besides the super expensive premium brands.

Got a nice Samsung fridge for 500€, it is running without issues for 10 years already. There is no sense to buy expensive fridge unless you need a professional one.

What's wrong with plywood? Why jump instantly from particleboard to hardwood?

Not sure there's much market for quality plywood furniture. It's neither cheap nor fancy, just functional, which as a market segment has vanished. The price of today's plywood also seems to have closed a lot of the gap with hardwood - it's often actually a superior material depending on project.

even second hand?

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