jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Finally, we get the truth about the dirty secret behind product design. Yes, they do it on purpose!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Seems like it sometimes.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Certainly applicable to most of my devices.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

And I always thought they were just doing it cheap!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Planned...

They give a 100,000 mile warranty and provide 115,000 worth of bugs.

Doddy Loc: Barnard Castle-England

And, we'll put in a cheap rubbish internal rechargeable battery for good measure!

JADAV

I am convinced that the majority of products are released into the market without even this level of scrutiny. So many items that my family has bought and found problems with have been shown to me. It is obvious that the designers have never attempted to use them. One example was a domestic pendant light with a ceiling rose that was to be assembled using tiny electrical grub screws into the sides of the fitting very close to the ceiling. None of my small electric screwdrivers had handles that didn't clash with the ceiling and allow the shank to properly align with the grub screws. In the end I had to use a watchmakers screwdriver in a series of quarter turns whilst standing at the top of a stepladder. I'm convinced that these designers have twin siblings who design webpages that don't make sense either.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

It’s not a design flaw or a bug, it’s a FEATURE!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nope! They're willing to spend the time and money to make life difficult for us.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Sadly, there is too much truth in Dilbert.

We've all bought crappy goods that infuriate us. It makes the really excellent products stand out all that much more.

One of my coworkers back in the 1980s bought a used Jaguar. One of his $2.00 tail lights burned out. The power surge took out a computer that ran the entire lighting system in the car. Replacing that cost over $1000 in 1983 money. He traded the car shortly thereafter.

My Dad was a sucker for "deals." He bought used cars, too. In early 2004, he bought a used 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora. It had been a $35,000 new car. He got it used for $14,900. I inherited the cursed thing in 2013.

I shipped the Olds from Oregon to NC so my twins would have something to drive when they finished Driver's Ed. BAAAD move. I should have sold it in Oregon and bought the twins a used Toyota Corolla back in NC. The first sign was when I took it to my auto repair shop in High Point. The owner looked at it and laughed. He told me he makes more money off of GM owners than most other car and truck brands, because he sees them so often. So much for my Dad's desire to see my kids drive his nice big car!

I almost thanked Jay when he totaled it in 2018. As we cleaned personal stuff from the trunk before it was scrapped, THAT's when I found my Dad's repair and maintenance receipts in the trunk of the car. There were 40+ reasons why he "got a deal" on that car.

I had spent FAR more maintaining and repairing that POS for five years than I had on our *two* Priuses in the previous *ten* years. New power steering hose, new brake master cylinder, new rear window motor, new A/C compressor, new water pump, new fuel pump, new radiator, several new suspension parts, a battery and TWO sets of tires, TWO sets of brake pads and shoes, new motor mounts, two alignments a year... less than HALF the gas mileage of a Prius... GAAAAAAA!!! I've never encountered so many failures and expenses to own one car. Neither I, nor my kids, will buy any GM vehicle as a result of owning that one.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I will have to agree. With the exception of some of the newer Cadillacs and ‘Vetts, GM has built some of the most boring automobiles imaginable, and their foray into V8 powered FWD cars and diesels has just been laughable. I will say that Toyota/Lexus is building some of the most reliable if not THE most reliable vehicles in the world. Who would have thought it in the 60s when their products were described derisively as “Jap crap”. BTW, GM used to be a customer of mine in a number of locations. I distinctly remember driving into a GM facility and seeing a BIG sign at the entrance to the parking lot that said something like: “American vehiclles only in this (front) lot - Japanese junk park in the back lot”. Seriously.

As for Jaguars, we won’t even go there. I recently helped a friend sell his XJ8 and had a chance to see the service records. It was a 75K$ car that he paid 16K for with 80K miles. In the next 40K miles, he spent well over 20K$ (per the service records) to keep it running, highlighted by items like a $2100 headlight assembly (twice) that developed leaks. He sold it for 6K or a Jaguar lover and bought his wife a Volvo - out of the frying pan into the fire 🙀.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I bought a Corolla in 1977, put six years and 92,000 miles on it, sold it for half the original sticker price, and have been addicted to Toyotas ever since. They just keep going. I hate repair costs and hassles.

I was using Nikons, Pioneer receivers, TEAC tape decks, and other Japanese gear for eight years before the Corolla purchase. So I knew that “Jap Crap” racist label was generally unwarranted. Ed Deming taught them what they needed to know, because Detroit wouldn’t listen...

gpc

As the owner of a brand new 1971 Chevy Vega - junk after 3 years and 50K miles - I too have sworn off GM ever since. This even though I come from a GM family. My parents owned Chevies and Oldsmobiles. My previous cars were 2 Chevy Corvairs and an Olds 442.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Yep, for all the left over Japanese hatred after WWII (and I know it well after having had 8 uncles, my father and father-in-law in WWII), the Japanese were willing to learn and adopt new and better ideas, including woman’s rights, a Democratic Monarchy and Deming’s quality principals, and their products show it in cameras, electronics and automobiles.

cochese

Subaru. My stepson drives one that has over 300,000 miles on it. The one he had before that had 450,000 miles on it. They run forever with normal maintenance. We just traded our 2012 outback with 78,000 on it and got 3,000 over book balue on the trade. I would not even flinch at buying one with 200,000 miles as long as it had service records.