old stuff

[cellio]

I think I am an abnormal consumer; I tend to hold on to stuff as long as it still works. For example, I'm perfectly happy with the car I bought new in 1989, and plan to drive it until it dies an expensive death. If I'm lucky, I can hold out long enough for the hybrids to get through beta testing. (Never buy version 1.0 of anything important.)

What brought this to mind is my watch. It's just a generic cheap Timex -- digital, alarm, backlight that stopped working a few years ago, etc. For a few years I've had to use something stronger and harder than my finger, like the back end of a pen, to push the buttons that set the time. But it's comfortable, and how often do you need to set the time anyway?

Twice a year, of course. And this morning I discovered that a critical button no longer works, and I was stuck in daylight-savings time. Worse than being one hour off, though, is being one hour and a minute or two off, and by the time I was done screwing with it, that was its state. (It could zero the seconds, but not change the minutes or hours.) So, off to the store.

What I really want doesn't seem to exist. I'd prefer a watch with a conventional face and hands, but I want an alarm. (I don't use an alarm often, but I occasionally need it.) Oh well. My new watch is a bit on the ugly side, so maybe I'll be less reluctant to replace it next time. I do not, however, intend to apply that logic to my next car. :-)

Comments

[rectangularcat]

hear, hear for anti-obselescence!

So many people are trying to convince me to upgrade my car. What's wrong for something that works? Grins!

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

My particular ire awakens when I wear out a good product after a rewarding life, and then can't replace it. For example, I bought warm, comfortable, waterproof boots in 1993, and then the company stopped producing that model and then went out of business. I had the boots resoled and the uppers repaired, but eventually they had to be retired, and I can't find anything so nice.

[lil-lamb.livejournal.com]

"I think I am an abnormal consumer; I tend to hold on to stuff as long as it still works. "

I thought I was the only one.....

[lefkowitzga.livejournal.com]

My car replacement meme is when the maintenance costs more than a car payment.

How many stores did you look at for the watch that you want? An analog face with an alarm should be available somewhere.

[cellio]

Isn't a typical car payment at least $200/month (usually a lot more)? I don't think I've ever had $2400' worth of maintenance in a single year, so I must be misunderstanding you. (I also save money with the intention of being able to pay for a car outright. Whether I actually do that depends on what loan interest rates vs. likely investment yield look like at the time.)

I only went to one store. I figure that if I eventually find the watch I want, I'll be willing to spend some money on a good one and won't overly regret the $15 I spent on the current occupant of my wrist. And if I don't find the watch I want, the current one will suffice. I'll probably surf for options.

[cellio]

Oh yeah, I hate it when that happens. It's happened to me with coats, shoes, and electronics. Particularly electronics, it seems -- I have yet to find a small, portable tape deck that has both recording quality and playback quality to match the one I bought almost twenty years ago (and that died several years ago). The world moved on to huge honking shoulder-mount boom boxes during the interim.

[lefkowitzga.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever had $2400' worth of maintenance in a single year, so I must be misunderstanding you

New tires, exhaust system, alternator, and I don't remember what else happened to me in 2002. I was too scared to go through the winter with the brakes currently on the car (not just pads, but rotors, too) and decided that 11 years/almost 200K miles was old enough for me to replace it.

RE: surfing, I looked on Amazon for radio/CD/alarm clocks last week and was amazed at the variety available. Maybe you should look for a preferred wristwatch there.

[cellio]

Car: ouch.

I've never gotten a car up to 200k miles (or even 100k), so that probably explains a lot of the difference.