Limnos wrote:
... some day something minor but essential like a turn signal relay will break which will basically total an otherwise good car.
You can always signal a turn by sticking your arm out the window, but the other nincomboobs on the road won't have a clue what you mean 😉
I realize that was intended as a trivial example, but it's easier now than it's ever been to troubleshoot and repair minor annoyances that would have rendered a car, computer, or any other appliance obsolete just a few years ago. As long as the car isn't terribly rare, chances are that there is someone else who has already encountered, solved, and posted about whatever problem that might arise, complete with color pictures and links to parts sources.
If it weren't for the resources on this forum (and Google) I might have given up on these printers already.
I don't think Toyota as a corporation would be very happy if nobody had bought cars from them in 28 years ...
Planned obsolescence certainly has its place as a means in an expanding economy, but it requires an expanding economic base to remain an effective plan for business growth. Without the ability to replace them, Cuba has kept old American cars running for decades. Even if capitalism weren't under attack, it's likely that consumers won't continue to enjoy the ability to continually replace their stuff with the cheap junk that China sends in exchange for the US's increasingly worthless currency. Consumer spending has kept an ailing economy afloat for a few years, but that party ended a long time ago. Meanwhile there is absolutely no hint of any government policy to stimulate private business and economic prosperity. The exact opposite climate prevails, as it has in other socialist Utopias, and it hasn't worked well in them.
Appletalk may be a moot point for me. All the Apple computers I've ever bought still function. For all the PC fanboys who denigrate Macs for costing more, when you realize their economic life is at least twice as long as a PC their cost becomes trivial. My iMac DV SE has certainly reached the limit of its upgradability, but it still does everything I need a computer to do and it stubbornly refuses to quit. Its initial cost plus memory and HD upgrades distributed over ten years minus its present salvage value is about $130 / year. My HP laser printer cost over $1000 in 1992. That was a lot of money, but the printer is built like a tank, and over a seventeen year life it's peanuts.
Arguably, the factors that eventually make an Apple computer functionally obsolete is a desire to use them for reasons that didn't even exist when they were built. Despite their longevity, Apple has been wildly successful at marketing to people who want the better features that come with their new computers.
On the other hand, all I've ever wanted do with my printers is print. No Appletalk is a reason for me to
not buy a new Mac. That shouldn't be.
I can't seem to kill my old Toyota either 🙂 But you don't have to buy a new one - let someone else pay the thousands of dollars of depreciation that occurs as soon as it leaves the dealer's lot. Buy another six year old car today and keep it till 2031. By then your only option may be the modern day version of those great government successes such as the Trabant, or Lada, or this:
