Buy cheap buy twice

[prison break fan]

I used to have a complete set of Le Creuset pans, had them for many years, but sadly now find them too heavy, so have passed them on to my son, who was delighted! pbf.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Depends whether you have a French or English keyboard! On the very rare occasions I try to type in French it is wierd, my mind is saying the words in French whilst my fingers type them in English!!

We still have a black enormous not flat screen Sony telly which is going strong after about 12 years so I tend to lean towards Sony as a reliable make for electronic goods (as other people have reported they have been happy with Sony goods too).

We're 100% AZERTY - easier with the accents and the children are completely baffled by QWERTY.

I like Sony but am currently embargoing them because the bastards started advertising Christmas in October

[Stonehead]

The most annoying thing is new technology which means that things like computers don't last - not because they break down but they become outdated within a few years. Cameras too!

I'm writing this on an early 2002 Apple PowerMac G4. It's only started to let me down in the past month or so. Our boys use a late 1999 Apple iMac G3 and that's more than adequate for their purposes. And I still have a working 1993 Mac LC 475 that can be used for word processing, running an old weather station and a couple of other things.

As for cameras, I've only just ditched a 1997 Olympus C-420L camera. (The switch in the lens cover finally wore out.) I'm still using a 2001 Olympus C-4040 Zoom, although like my computer it's definitely on the way out at last. And I have a working 1985 Nikon F3 (yes, film) in the cupboard.

Washing machines and ovens are our bête noire. Regardless of brand, most fail between two and three years of age, while the cost of parts makes it uneconomic to repair them. The one exception was a British-built Hotpoint that came to us third or fourth-hand and was 13-15 years old. It might have weighed three times as much as the new ones and used 50% more electricity, but it actually cleaned the clothes and spun them almost dry. Sadly, the drive shaft sheared last week and it's now defunct.

As for other appliances, older Magimixes are good. Ours is 15 years old and still working well, despite hard use and the loss of two buttons.

Our Kenwood Mixer is a 1950s one and still going strong.

Our TV is a Sony, about 15 years old, third-hand, and working fine. The VCR is even older and still works.

We have two Dysons, those cleaners that everyone seems to hate. Ours have been in use for 14-15 years, including use on building sites and in barns, and still do a decent job.

I suppose we did swap a 20-year-old Land Rover for a seven-year-old one, but that was more for the OH's comfort than any real fault with the old one.

And of course, there's me. Many miles under the belt and still plodding along with only a few squeaks and rattles...

[gregorach]

DM boots - bought most of mine at the start of the 90s and I'm still wearing them

DMs apparently aren't what they used to be... Don't wear 'em myself, but I know a few folks who have complained that they don't last like they used to. Me, I'm wearing a pair of Lowa Combat GTXs which I've been wearing every day for the last 3 years or so, they're just about due for their first resole but the uppers are still in very good nick. Bit pricey though!

[Archanejil]

The OH has a Macbook from 2003 and it still works (though he does sometimes get annoyed at some websites that decide to be non-inclusive of older browsers). Mind, the Apple computer my dad bought in 1984 still works -- mostly for games though since the daisy wheel printer died 10 years ago.

Ikea bookshelves. Like Argos, don't bother putting books on them. Certainly not quite large and heavy text books (whoopsie!).

[Susie]

I'm on a Mac from about the same time (2002/ 2003). It's great, it's a bit slow and it's days are numbered because I can't update my browser but it's had an excellent innings .

And before this one, we had a Mac Classic! With a tiny little screen! (It's still in the cupboard, although sadly it died. I just can't quite bear to part with it).

[Millymollymandy]

Our TV is a Sony, about 15 years old, third-hand, and working fine. The VCR is even older and still works.

There's another one!

I have a cupboard full of cameras that we couldn't even sell at a 2nd hand place before we moved to Brittany cos they said they were outdated then (and that was well before digital cameras became the norm). I was happy with my old computer and didn't want a new one but I couldn't watch things that other people did!!! I expect mine is now outdated as it's about 4 years old. Perhaps macs are different to PCs? Anyway it is nice to have a flat screen something in my house!!

[Millymollymandy]

Oh, if we're talking about furniture (saw mention of Ikea shelves ) my 'Country Cottage' (or similar silly name) pine range of sideboard/coffee tables/occasional tables/cupboards etc from MFI is very sturdy and still going strong after innumerable house and country moves and finally fits perfectly with my rustic house and the bookcase is very very strong indeed as it's the one with all the big hardbacks on it. Plus one of the pieces has held our enormous Sony telly for the last 11 years and my husband can barely lift the telly as it is so heavy. So thumbs up to them!

[123sologne]

I didn't think we had many things that were old-ish, but I found quite a few... You just forget about things that simply work and never create trouble.
We bought a Panasonic bread maker over 10 years ago and it is still working even if the pan is starting to look a bit sad... Hubby has used it at least once a week for all these years. (I am not a great bread eater so we don't need much...)
In the Panasonic collection, hubby bought a Microwave-oven-grill in 1994 and it is still going very strong, being used daily.
He also bought a wet and dry Vax vacuum cleaner in 95 and that is still going strong too even if it looks a little tat.
Then we have the Kenwood food processor bought in 96 which is still going very well too.
And we have an under counter fridge and an under counter freezer from Beeko which have been bought in 93 and are still fine.
I also have a Le Creuset dish and if I am correct these dishes are life warranty ( I am correct, I just checked in Google). My mum had some and they are still going strong and if I am correct my dad inherited one that belong to his mum, so we are talking probably one that is well over 50 years old...
In the life time warranty gear, I would suggest Tilley, hubby has a hat from them and he got me a very practical (full of pockets) hand-bag. I had it nearly 10 years and it is still looking great, and I carry so much junk in it, my shoulders will probably give up well before the bag!!
Finally hubby suggest De Walt power tools, they are used by the trade and last a very very long time.

In the bad stuff collection, so far I can only think of that dreadful washing machine from Bosh. It started going funny very early on. It did last a good 6 years saying that, but it gave me trouble all the way. I should have probably ask Bosh to look at it when problems started, but I didn't. It never really washed properly, it damaged some clothe etc.... Well I hated it. Anyway it finally died this year and since then has been replaced by a Beeko, which so far does a much better job!

It is interesting what everybody (nearly) says about T***o's electrical. We don't shop there at all (or maybe once every 2 years...), so I never thought they were that bad. I have to admit, I have never bought any electrical in the supermarkets, even our last toaster must come from the like of Curry or something like that.

[Mrs H]

I have a Kenwood food mixer that used to be my mums and she got it as a wedding present 38yrs ago. I use it every day and its great. We also have cast iron pots and pans that we got given to us and they are from the 70's!
I have to agree about the Dysons, we got one for a wedding present 6yrs ago and its crap! X

[Millymollymandy]

Kenwoods do seem to last absolutely decades although I had one which finally gave up the ghost, but I don't know how old it was. It probably originally belonged to my grandmother but I used it a lot when I was a teenager into early 20s and still have the mixing bowl that came with it which I always use for making cakes etc, just I use one of those electric hand held cake mixer thingies now! Mind you that is donkey's years old and is a Moulinex. I have quite a few bowls and saucepans in very regular use that belonged to my grandmother and she died about 40 years ago.

[pelmetman]

I too have one of those old Kenwood Mixers that was my Mum's, can't remember exactly how old it is but I know she was using it in the late 60's. I bet if we bought one today it would'nt last that long.
Sue

[yvette]

I've had a 'kitchen devil' serrated knife since 1982 and it is still sharp and working well.
I'd agree about Le Creuset - when I was teenager, I worked evenings in a pub kitchen and we cooked on Le Creuset pots that the proprietor's mother had had as a wedding present!
If anyone can recommend a good reliable tinopener that lasts, I'd be delighted. I must have spent a fortune over the years....
Also, last time our washing machine became broken beyond repair, the mechanic suggested Hotpoint for a replacement. Apparently they are easier to repair because it is often possible to get individual components as required. In our old machine the bearings had gone and we would have had to replace the entire drum unit - not just the actual bearings - at a cost of over £100!

[Stonehead]

That's interesting about le Creuset as we have two of the largest pans that are about 20 years old and the enamel has just come away from the bottom in both of them. We considered buying new ones, but prices are well out of our league now.

I'm loathe to bin them, but it's not safe to use them for cooking with fragments of enamel coming away. I'm wondering if it would be possible to chip all the enamel off and use them as cast iron pans. After all, I do have a couple of other cast iron pans.

[greenorelse]

I'm on a Mac from about the same time (2002/ 2003). It's great, it's a bit slow and it's days are numbered because I can't update my browser but it's had an excellent innings .

At work I use a PowerMac from 2001; it's had an extra drive and new power supply but still earns me money, day in, day out. It has paid for itself many, many times over.

And before this one, we had a Mac Classic! With a tiny little screen! (It's still in the cupboard, although sadly it died. I just can't quite bear to part with it).

Still got my Classic II, it still works and looks great in its own custom-sized cubby hole. I produced some music books on it in the early '90s but it never repaid its incredible original cost, about £2 grand iirc, way higher than the dollar price.