> Samsung has made garbage appliances for my entire life.

When I moved into my first own flat, family, friends and colleagues pressured me to buy good appliances. They will last longer they said.

Buy Miele for a washing machine, nothing else, they said. I didn't had the money for that, so I bought a washing machine for 250 Euro. It has been going for 11 years, moved two times and doesn't show any signs of going out.

Another friend told me he only buys Samsung fridges. Best machines, one shouldn't buy anything else. I bought a fridge for 200 Euro because I liked the retro look and its red color. Also going strong for 10 years and moving two times. He has got the third Samsung fridge in 10 years now.

Yeah, that's anecdotal but I haven't really found the part where buying something more expensive really helped with expanding its lifespan, rather the contrary where "high tech" broke earlier or more often.

Many 250 appliances are targeted at landlords who care that the applicance is cheap and works for years without complaints. They don't care about features - they will never use them - just that it is good enough to check the box and the users don't get so mad they complain. They also don't care that it looks good so you get things that look cheap but last.

Note that I said many above. there are also 250 appliances built for the penny wise and pound foolish - they will break in a few years (just long enough that the warranty is up).

Even knowing that though, often there are features of the more expensive appliances that while not needed are nice enough that I'm willing to pay extra.

>Yeah, that's anecdotal but I haven't really found the part where buying something more expensive really helped with expanding its lifespan, rather the contrary where "high tech" broke earlier or more often.

buy professional stuff that's expensive, not consumer gadgetry expensive.

a samsung fridge is expensive because of the gimmicks and high tech integrations.

a sub zero fridge is expensive because of the build quality and manufacturer network , part re-use and larger consumer part availability and market.

> Buy Miele for a washing machine, nothing else, they said. I didn't had the money for that, so I bought a washing machine for 250 Euro. It has been going for 11 years, moved two times and doesn't show any signs of going out.

Washing machines are a solved problem and it does not need a high tech solution. A good, reliable motor and good weights is pretty much it. No need for brittle over-engineering, fragile touchscreens or temperamental sensors.

When I had to buy one, I got a basic Beko* because they are usually good with replacement parts, and it had the bare minimum in terms of electronics. It was also one of the cheapest, but that’s a consequence of the other criteria more than something I optimised. I would be reluctant to get a no-name Chinese one, even if it is cheap. Anyway, it’s been going for 5 years now just like on the first day. Very happy with it.

> He has got the third Samsung fridge in 10 years now.

Fridges are also a solved problem. It’s just a cooling loop with a radiator on one side and a pump in the middle, and good thermal insulation. Using three of them in 10 years is not very impressive, decent ones should go forever. There is no reason why one should fail before 10 to 15 years.

> Yeah, that's anecdotal but I haven't really found the part where buying something more expensive really helped with expanding its lifespan, rather the contrary where "high tech" broke earlier or more often.

Definitely. But I would not say that going for cheap is the best strategy. Going for simple and sturdy is, and it is usually correlated with being cheap. But there’s also a lot of cheap disposable crap.

* I am not sure how well they are known around the world, it’s a Turkish brand. Their stuff is built mainly in Turkey and in my experience sturdy and easy to fix and repair, if a bit bare bones features-wise.

> buying something more expensive really helped with expanding its lifespan

Expensive consumer appliances aren't always the same quality as expensive professional appliances.

>It has been going for 11 years, moved two times and doesn't show any signs of going out.

I replaced my AEG washing machine last year after ±10 years of service. The new one, also roughly 200 euro, uses a fraction of the energy, and cleans better. I should have swapped it out way earlier to save money.

Samsung/LG don't know how to build reliable white home appliances, or don't want to. Or black ones for that matter (remember FUBAR with Samsung bricking their expensive surround system for good? Not so long ago).

No reason to buy those when you have ie some basic Bosch stuff. TBH smart stuff should be left to computers and phones, rest should be dumb as brick. But folks keep buying it for some reason (ie hey Samsung makes good phones, lets buy their fridge), hence crapware everywhere.