When it’s time to replace a major appliance are you thunderstruck by sticker shock?

I’m not shocked because I don’t buy expensive products. i know they’re out there but I know there are alternatives.

I know people who think life is not worth living if you don’t have two dishwashers and a restaurant-worthy cooking range. If you’re reading home magazines and listening to sales people and keeping up with the Joneses, you think you “need” high end appliances.

But if you’re not locked into that mindset, it’s easy to spend less. For example, nice washers and dryers are really cheap and even free on Craigslist, as people upgrade or move and just want the old stuff taken away.

I bought a commercial dryer for our 4-flat apartment building for $160, including delivery. Still working great after 3 years. The previous dryer lasted 20 years. I’ll be getting a washer soon and I plan on spending $200 to $300.

If you go to the back of Lowes you can get som scratch and dent bargains for a quarter of sticker price.

Not really. The high priced stuff usually has all sorts of crap I don’t need. A refrigerator with a built in video screen and internet access? Puhleez. A dryer that email you when it finishes? How ridiculous.

Buy what you need and don’t get suckered into stupid stuff. That simple,.

I usually go buy old appliances in either thrift stores or used appliance outlets. The old stuff in some respects was better, especially things like clothes washers. I just can’t see dropping $1000–2000 on a washer/dryer set when I get the same utility out of one I got for $100–200. I also install my own stuff which saves a good 25–50%
That said my next water heater will probably be an on demand gas model which will be costly but should open up some garage space and end the “shower time wars” My current heater is still going strong though and it’s old enough to be considered a “classic”

What gives me sticker shock is cars. Dear god what has happened there. I was looking at doing an EV conversion on a miata with a blown engine and after adding the component cost it got up to about 10 grand so I stopped considering it until I saw what new cars are selling for. I have not priced cars in like five years or so. How do people afford cars now? I guess it’s about the payment~

I’m most struck by how they overprice the trendy style or color. Oh, and the counter depth fridge, which is smaller, but hundreds of dollars more.

Or, that the wall microwave is $1k more than the one that goes over the stove? It can’t be hundreds of dollars more to manufacture.

It’s also very difficult to find an old style washing machine for instance.

Also, amazing, how crappy the cheap dishwashers are, I have one now. Even the rack is completely different. How much more can it be to put the higher priced model rack in the cheaper model; so, I can put two large plates “side by side” and not worry about them hitting. But, no, to get that rack you need to pay hundreds more. You also get more water gets, but you can’t get something in between. Not easily anyway.

You gotta buy total cheap crap, or pay for super duper. It’s hard to find something moderate that’s built well.

I buy from a reputable used appliance store. They’ll tell you which washers are “bullet proof.”

@JLeslie Do them by hand in sink like I do most times. We have one of the super quiet dishwashers use it but still do the ones or twos by hand. The dishwasher is super SUPER quiet and use less water (oh no heating rod for drying either).

^^I hate doing the dishes. I do pots and pans by hand, and I complain about that. In my house before this house I had two dishwashers, and I miss it. They were expensive, lots of jets, and very quiet. The cheap one I have now isn’t as quiet, but it’s not noisy like some are. I have no complaint about the noise with this one.

@JLeslie Spoilt! We don’t have or need a dishwasher…hahaha

Trying to say “thunderstruck by sticker shock” 5 times, really fast…

We paid $500 each for a new fridge and stove. Rick, of course, wanted to go with the higher dollar items, but I managed to keep him under control. They aren’t the sexiest things but they work.