Dude, I don't know what's up but we literally replaced almost all of our 80s/90s appliances within the last year.

Last summer we had to get a new clothes washer (old one wouldn't drain), then we got a new oil tank (old one had a leak), our TV died, VCR started to not want to record anything right.  Then last winter, the oven died, computer died, the fridge was just.....too old and leaked, the toaster went to hell, and yesterday the early 90s microwave started making weird noises, so we got a new one today.

So we have all these new appliances (all except the dryer are new), which is a good thing.  Though it just proves to me that the 90s are dead, lol.  But why did this happen all in one year?  Are we cursed or something?

Dude, I don't know what's up but we literally replaced almost all of our 80s/90s appliances within the last year.

Last summer we had to get a new clothes washer (old one wouldn't drain), then we got a new oil tank (old one had a leak), our TV died, VCR started to not want to record anything right.  Then last winter, the oven died, computer died, the fridge was just.....too old and leaked, the toaster went to hell, and yesterday the early 90s microwave started making weird noises, so we got a new one today.

So we have all these new appliances (all except the dryer are new), which is a good thing.  Though it just proves to me that the 90s are dead, lol.  But why did this happen all in one year?  Are we cursed or something?

Yeah, that sucks that something from the '90s isn't really "new" anymore. Even 1999 is 7 years ago!

I shop at Goodwill alot, and I've collected several old-school VCRs and boomboxes from that era. I don't use them all, of course, but as silly as it sounds, I like having a few extra working ones around. Makes the '90s feel "closer" in a way. It's bad enough that the '80s (my earlier childhood) are gone, but the fact that the '90s are heading down the same path makes me even sadder sometimes, I'll admit.

On the brighter side, I think cars from about 1991+ still look pretty new, just because of the rounded design.

Yeah, that sucks that something from the '90s isn't really "new" anymore. Even 1999 is 7 years ago!

I shop at Goodwill alot, and I've collected several old-school VCRs and boomboxes from that era. I don't use them all, of course, but as silly as it sounds, I like having a few extra working ones around. Makes the '90s feel "closer" in a way. It's bad enough that the '80s (my earlier childhood) are gone, but the fact that the '90s are heading down the same path makes me even sadder sometimes, I'll admit.

On the brighter side, I think cars from about 1991+ still look pretty new, just because of the rounded design.

Most of my VCR's are from the late '90s and '00s. I wish I still had one from the early-mid '90s. But the newer ones would probably be more reliable and not eat the tape.

Most of my VCR's are from the late '90s and '00s. I wish I still had one from the early-mid '90s. But the newer ones would probably be more reliable and not eat the tape.



We've got a VCR from 1986. Its still pretty reliable, even though it occasionally eats the tape and the video can mess up bad at times. We've also got a t.v set from 1991 and a microwave from 1997ish.

Oh yeah, we've still got our oven we got in 1994.

Our VCR is from around 1995 it is quite a good one and still works well to this day.

We still have many appliances from the 90s and before (in fact most of our appliances are from that decade, lol)...yet alot of them still work fine, so there'se no reason to replace yet..

Thnings just aren't made the way they used to be.

Our dryer is older than I am (>30 years), and has only needed a thermostat.
The oven that came with the house, which was built in 1954, still works great.
Our furnace was replaced about six years ago (also original to the house), because we were going with central heat and air, not because it was toast.
Our dishwasher is an early 70s model, and still works good, though all the settings have long since rubbed off the faceplate.
Our hot water heater, when replaced along with the furnace (conversion to natural gas), was over 25 years old, and still didn't leak despite no maintenance over that time period.
My old window AC unit was a commerical piece that had been used in a hotel for over 10 years before we bought it, and used it for 15 more. I gave it to a friend, and it worked for another 5 years before it finally died.
Our first microwave was a Quasar Radar Range, built in the late 60s-early 70s, and worked for 20+ years before we replaced it too.
Our electric stove (that also came with the house) lasted until we replaced it with a gas stove some years back.
The kitchen exhaust fan is original to the house, and still works perfectly.
Finally, our blender, while having a seriously dull blade, has lasted over 30 years.

With all that said, we've burned up 3 coffee pots, 2 toasters, 1 electric can opener, 2 washing machines, 2 TVs, 2 DVD players, 2 VCRs, and numerous trivial appliances in the past 3 years. The difference? They were all made in the late 80s through today as opposed to the 50s and 60s.

The refrigerator is the only 90s appliance left in the house.

With all that said, we've burned up 3 coffee pots, 2 toasters, 1 electric can opener, 2 washing machines, 2 TVs, 2 DVD players, 2 VCRs, and numerous trivial appliances in the past 3 years. The difference? They were all made in the late 80s through today as opposed to the 50s and 60s.

The refrigerator is the only 90s appliance left in the house.


Your newer crap appliances were probably made with Chinese slave labor, rather than in the USA like the 50s-60s ones probably were.

I have a Sanyo TV from 1994, and it still works fine. But who knows how much longer that will last.

--
Dave.

I have a Sanyo TV from 1994, and it still works fine. But who knows how much longer that will last.

--
Dave.

We used to have a JVC TV we got in 1994 or 1995. It went out on us in 2005. :(

I still have an old CRT TV from 1997 in the living room as well as a 1998 refrigerator and stove in the kitchen. However we used to have a small 12 channel TV with 13 buttons (one was labeled '*') that we sold a year ago. Not sure if this TV was made in the 80's.

I still have an old CRT TV from 1997 in the living room as well as a 1998 refrigerator and stove in the kitchen. However we used to have a small 12 channel TV with 13 buttons (one was labeled '*') that we sold a year ago. Not sure if this TV was made in the 80's.

I probably still have some things from the late '90s, but I might have some from the early-mid '90s. I guess I've just gotten used to them. I used to have a Montgomery Ward Refridgerator from 1985. We had it for 21 years, but we replaced it about 2 months ago.

I probably still have some things from the late '90s, but I might have some from the early-mid '90s. I guess I've just gotten used to them. I used to have a Montgomery Ward Refridgerator from 1985. We had it for 21 years, but we replaced it about 2 months ago.



Our refridgerator is from 1989 and it still runs like a charm. Hopefully we wont be replacing it anytime soon.

The 90s was the start of the "throw-away" era. How often do you take a TV, a toaster, a vaccuum cleaner, a radio..to a repair shop? Most of these  businesses all went out of business in the 90s as CHEAPLY made, and cheaply priced appliances made their way onto the shelves of big box retail chains (not naming any names here but..). Many of us still have some working appliances from the 70s, 80s, or early 90s. Very few have much from the mid 90s onward. Most of our appliances we buy have been recently puchased and are about 1/4 the cost we would have paid for 20 years ago. But we get what we pay for! For example, my parents had a middle-line coffee maker by a respectable name brand for fifteen years! Bought it new in 1986 and lasted until early 2001! Only had to replace the carafe every now and then. Since then, they have probably gone through 10 in the last 5 years. I also have a set of Christmas lights from the year I was freaking born..1977..and they STILL WORK, though I am afraid to actually display them. Yet it seems I have to buy a new set every year because they only last one season, maybe two. Those are just a few examples of the price we are paying for this cheap stuff..we are not even thinking about the environmental costs we will be paying with the heaping landfills of 90s and 2000s waste. Soon we will probably be doing this with cars, trucks, boats, etc. Scary.

One thing I remember is comparing a 2  head VCR to a 4 head VCR and if you didn't have a 4-head then the quality was going to be vastly different. I think we had a 2 head VCR in the late '80s and then we got robbed and were able to replace our 2 head with a 4 head. We still have that VCR, but we had to get it cleaned about 5 years ago - and it still doesn't work all that well.

My boyfriend and I just got a free refrigerator and before we got it we went to the ladies house to check it out and I thought it looked about 15 years old. So, the day my boyfriend picked it up and brought it home, I looked at the back and the label said 1978! This thing still works quite well!

We (my roomates and I), have gone through......

3 computers (including one that died last year.)

1  TV set (currently one of my roomates TV is dying.)

2 VCRs

I used to have a Windows 95 Packard Bell computer we got in late 1995. I loved it. Sadly, my dad gave it away sometime in 2000 or 2001. :\'( But I was able to buy a similar one off of eBay about a year ago.

I used to have a Windows 95 Packard Bell computer we got in late 1995. I loved it. Sadly, my dad gave it away sometime in 2000 or 2001. :\'( But I was able to buy a similar one off of eBay about a year ago.



I still have a Commodor 64 computer from about 1984 or so. It doesn't run that great anymore and alot of games wont play on it, but at least it still works

While I'm on my 4th computer in 9 years, I don't complain, because by the time they broke they were so outdated as to be more or less useless to me anyway. I still remember buying my 3rd one in 1999 for the purpose (geek alert!) as to be able to play Everquest: the first two I got (in 1996 and 1997) didn't have the OS, processor speed, video card, not RAM to be able to play it. Even the one I got in '99 received a video card and RAM upgrade before it ever left the store.

I was a bit surprised when I got my 4th one in January 2006 that they don't come with a 3.5" floppy drive anymore.... I still use my '99 monitor, though if I game again I'll go to a new flatscreen and (again) upgrade the video card.

I sold my second computer to a friend for 50$; the monitor went out in 2 weeks, and 3 months later the tower actually caught fire. We're still on speaking terms.  ;D

Most of my VCR's are from the late '90s and '00s. I wish I still had one from the early-mid '90s. But the newer ones would probably be more reliable and not eat the tape.


Yeah, I've had that happen more than a few times (AARGH!). One of the cheaper ones I had, didn't so much "eat" the tape as much as ridge it on the egdes, so it became sorta muffled when you play them back now.

To find a good older one at a Goodwill for instance, the best thing to do is plug it in if you can, get a VHS tape (they're is also usually tons at those places) and just test the playing/FF/Rewinding for a few seconds. I'd only look for a Hi Fi.

P.S. The best VCRs seem to have been made in the early '90s. Probably because the tech had been around long enough by then to "perfect" it, but VHS was still the main format so they put more "effort" into them than the flimsier new ones.

The 90s was the start of the "throw-away" era. How often do you take a TV, a toaster, a vaccuum cleaner, a radio..to a repair shop? Most of these  businesses all went out of business in the 90s as CHEAPLY made, and cheaply priced appliances made their way onto the shelves of big box retail chains (not naming any names here but)......

I agree with this. Probably it's more like 1997+ tech that's cheaply made. Up to 1996 even, I think it was more like modified '80s technology with newer features. But the "oldies" seem like they were built to last more, don't they? ;)

I agree with this. Probably it's more like 1997+ tech that's cheaply made. Up to 1996 even, I think it was more like modified '80s technology with newer features. But the "oldies" seem like they were built to last more, don't they? ;)



Of course. They were made with better parts... unlike many of todays.  Electronics/appliances repair shops have closed in numbers around here in the last 8 years.

--
Dave.

Of course. They were made with better parts... unlike many of todays.  Electronics/appliances repair shops have closed in numbers around here in the last 8 years.

--
Dave.

Like I said, we got a JVC TV in 1994 or 1995 and it lasted us until its death in 2005. I've heard people say that the new plasma screen TV's don't last very long.

Like I said, we got a JVC TV in 1994 or 1995 and it lasted us until its death in 2005. I've heard people say that the new plasma screen TV's don't last very long.



Yea that wouldn't surprise me at all, Ive read that CRT TVs will last much longer even ones made today.

--
Dave.

Like I said, we got a JVC TV in 1994 or 1995 and it lasted us until its death in 2005. I've heard people say that the new plasma screen TV's don't last very long.


That doesn't surprise me. I bet alot of mid '00s TVs and electronics will already be at Goodwills or thrown out by, like 2012. I have a '27 Sony TV from 1989 - one of the wood-panelled designs - and it still works perfectly.

That doesn't surprise me. I bet alot of mid '00s TVs and electronics will already be at Goodwills or thrown out by, like 2012. I have a '27 Sony TV from 1989 - one of the wood-panelled designs - and it still works perfectly.

About a year ago, I won a Dell 17 inch LCD TV. It's awesome. I hope it doesn't go out anytime soon. If there are any problems, I'm willing to pay for repairs.

About a year ago, I won a Dell 17 inch LCD TV. It's awesome. I hope it doesn't go out anytime soon. If there are any problems, I'm willing to pay for repairs.


Hey, that's cool. :) I'd do the same thing, probably (I do have several electronics I'd probably rather fix than replace as well).

BTW I can't think of Dell without thinking of that commercial computer guy, Steve (remember "Dude, you're gettin' a Dell"). ;D

I agree with this. Probably it's more like 1997+ tech that's cheaply made. Up to 1996 even, I think it was more like modified '80s technology with newer features. But the "oldies" seem like they were built to last more, don't they? ;)


We have a 36'' Big Screen from 1984 - still runs today. We have had very little wrong with it, except the screen blurs for the first hour or so it's on. This thing should be in a TV Hall of Fame, though - I hope we never "dump" it and rather donate it to a TV collector of sorts.

Let's see....we've thrown out pretty much all of our '90s appliances. Three of our TV's we keep in the kitchen we had to throw out because they didn't work anymore, there was  nothing physically wrong with our crock pot but our cat peed in it so it had to go. :P Also, he peed in our electric skillet as well, the little bugger. They are kept on a shelf low to the floor near our back door. We had to replace our answering machines--twice! :o

We also replaced our microwave ovens twice. We've also thrown out our coffee. But we have Toshiba TV from 1984 that still works and has great colour on it, my brothers have it now and we also have a RCA TV in the living room from 1990 and that still works great too. So I see what people when they say they just make appliances like they used too.