Interesting. Farmers aren't even allowed to repair their John Deere tractors anymore. Imagine if every piece of tech hardware you owned were repairable? 

What if you could replace parts easily in your radios, laptops, cellphones, vehicles (that isn't always possible anymore), stereos, coffee pots, televisions. 

Imagine that world? Imagine how much less pollution there would be from producing and throwing away tech, engineered to fail at predetermined intervals and engineered to not be repairable? 

Big tech and global conglomerates have done a good job of keeping this idea out of the media. And largely off the mind of the average consumer. 

It would be interesting if companies saw this as a competitive edge and started using repairability as an advantage in the tech they produced. And imagine the advantage this would give the prepper?


https://youtube.com/shorts/u9JLKYF71jE?si=XdMIp7BfS9lMBaqV

I'm not sure why you're saying it's an idea that's been out of the media.  Just google "right to repair" and "maker movement" and you'll see this issue has very much been in the public eye.

Absolutely agree though that the abiliity to maintain and repair household products (electronics, appliances, vehicles, etc.) is directly related to self-reliance.  And manufacturers have worked very hard to make that difficult/impossible for consumers and independent mechanics.  There is a political dimension to this issue however.  As we discuss this relevant topic, let's make sure we steer clear of that and focus on its relevance to prepping.

One reason is the labor and parts costs make just tossing the less expensive tech and buying a new one more cost effective.

My recent example is that I had a USB power adapter go bad. I repaired it because I new how, but I had to buy a capacitor. And I couldn't get just one capacitor, I had to buy a pack of 20 for about $8. Then between my time for the initial diagnosing an then replacing the capacitor was about 15-20 minutes total. If I paid myself $20 an hour for that skilled labor, that would have been a total cost of $12 to repair that. Which is about the same price to buy a new one.



That's probably the low end example. But here's an anti "you can't repair it so we the manufacturer can rip you off" example you might remember.

I fixed the dead batteries on two BMW keyfobs. Which the internet said weren't repairable and had to be replaced. And the dealer wanted $380 a piece to replace them and another vendor $280. So I saved about $522.

Well >> https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=188.msg50070#msg50070

Quote from: MacWa77ace on January 20, 2025, 10:23:57 AM

Quote from: MacWa77ace on January 10, 2025, 03:54:11 PMThe dealer wants $380 each for the hardware and reprogramming, and both are now dead. Another vendor was about $280 each.

I've ordered a set of two batteries $19.99 and two fob cases $7.99 ea from amazon totaling $36 and will solder the batteries to the board. If I'm lucky I can transfer the hard key from the old fob to the new. I don't hold much hope for that because some of the reviewers say their key wouldn't fit correctly in the new housing. If it doesn't fit we'll have to have the blade on the new fob cut by a locksmith, don't know how much that will cost. 





Did I say #BMWSUCKS yet?

My hack was a success. For only $36 I fixed the two BMW keyfobs instead of paying their ransom of $760. And the existing hard key fit perfectly into the new case. [which was a concern due to reviews on the product]

I also just fixed two microwaves at work. When they stop working a new one is purchased. But I held them aside to check out. One had a bad cord, I knew that right away as it had gotten melted right behind the plug from the convection oven next to it. The other just didn't lite up anymore and the clock wasn't out etc. No power.

The first one was easy, just bought a new plug, cut out the bad section of cord, and put a new plug on the remaining section of cord. Lost about 6" of cord length.

The second one I found the problem right away after taking the metal housing off. There was a melted wire that attached to the Thermal Fuse. And the fuse looked cooked too, testing it with a meter the normally closed fuse was open, so bad. I ordered and replaced the fuse [I could buy one of those] and then put a new connector on the wire, which I already an assortment of connectors.

Costs to repair:
Now to repair these microwaves you need to have a set of security bits because they don't want you to repair them.  But had to buy a plug replacement as a set of 3 for 7.99. And the thermal fuse was $7.77. Each one was about 20 minutes total to repair, including taking the covers off, diagnosing and then repairing.

   
2x microwaves repaired
parts $15.76
Labor @ $20/hr for 40 minutes ~$13

hmm, I was planning on selling one for $25 and the other for $30 on the classified sites. The replacements we bought were about $230 so that's about their value new. Not sure that was worth it. 

If I was doing this stuff for a living I'd have to charge a minimum of $150 plus parts with markup. That's getting close to the cost of a new microwave.

As other examples where I couldn't fix stuff cause I couldn't get the parts:

I couldn't fix a black and decker battery powered blower. The plastic fan in it shattered. That was the one part that you couldn't order. Trashed.

I couldn't fix a Ryobi Hedge Trimmer attachment. I needed a new transmission gear for it. Again, the one part that is sure to wear out on those, and you can't buy that part, the housing, the extension, the blades, yes, the gear, no. 

---

I agree though, the new cars are expensive, use super thin oils, so wear out fast, don't even have a transmission service schedule and die in less than 10 years. All in the name of govt regulations to meet fuel economy requirements at the detriment of the environmental effects [affects] of loading millions of new cars into the junk yards because they are mechanically totaled.

I had a Fairphone 3, which functions on the same principle. It's a gimmicky piece of crap.
Dirt and dust gets into every corner and is impossible to clean out, it's buggy as hell, for some reason a lot less capable than a cheaper phone with worse components and after 2-3 years the company comes out with a new upgraded version which means replacement parts become incredibly expensive or impossible to source since they are all specially manufactured.
I got a cheapish Xiaomi work phone at the same time that is still running just fine.

In my opinion you're better off getting something like a lenovo or HP that has some replaceable/ upgradeable parts like RAM, battery and hard drive but takes standard components instead.
The technology to make repairable Laptops and Smartphones exist, we don't need this strange plug-in lego stuff for it.

I repaired my home elliptical by unplugging the old computer for it and plugging a new one in. Took about five minutes and cost $40. 

I repaired my laptop by replacing the power socket with easily available parts on line. It cost $12.

I tried to repair my six month old cell phone which was under warranty insurance by taking it to the repair place but the screen had leaked fluid all over the inside and was beyond repair, so new phone under the insurance plan. 

I repaired my refrigerator by buying a new ice maker on line and swapping it out when it went TU. That took almost an hour and cost $110 for the ice maker, but was cheaper than $300 the service guy wanted. 

Couldn't fix my Aurora A24 ti flashlight after it went for a ride in the washer and broke the unlock button. The front button still works but there is no way to repair the back one, which is annoying. I paid $75 and think it was a little high but the part can't be more than $2-4. Great light up till then. 

Quote from: majorhavoc on January 09, 2026, 06:32:04 AMI'm not sure why you're saying it's an idea that's been out of the media.  Just google "right to repair" and "maker movement" and you'll see this issue has very much been in the public eye.

Absolutely agree though that the abiliity to maintain and repair household products (electronics, appliances, vehicles, etc.) is directly related to self-reliance.  And manufacturers have worked very hard to make that difficult/impossible for consumers and independent mechanics.  There is a political dimension to this issue however.  As we discuss this relevant topic, let's make sure we steer clear of that and focus on its relevance to prepping.

I know about right to repair and the maker movement. But both aren't like a main issue pushed by major media. As a way to cut down on pollution by not overproducing the same items over and over. Not to mention it has become a major profit system highly developed by our industries. 

Tirls - I'm also not saying any of these "easy to repair" items are any good. Just that the days of manufacturing items with repair in mind, or long lasting components is all but dead. I'm just happy to see even a few manufacturers trying to build things that are easy to fix. 

In place of products built to last and easy to repair. Are cars (and just about every other product) literally engineered for profit from parts and repair vs profit from the original item. That was once valued by how long it would last and/or how easily it can be repaired. 

Modern cars parts are engineered to fail at specific intervals. Vehicles are engineered to make each repair so difficult it takes a dealership tech with a high amount of hours to complete a repair. The auto industry has moved from profit mainly coming from the initial sale. So largest amount if profit coming from parts and repair. Not only have screwed over the American consumer in this way. The added amount of pullution they are creating is staggering. 

If you've ever worked on a car from the 90s-00s vs now. It's night and day. All of my vehicles built before the mid 2000s had parts logically spaced and located so that they could be replaced. And individual parts were much better. I could fix anything on my 99' Jeep. Easily and affordably. Compare that to even my 2012 Jeep and it's night and day more complicated. Filled with intertwined parts and systems with a huge percentage of functionality I would gladly give up. Because what it really means is a massively higher number of parts to break or go bad. Nit to mention impossible to repair. At least enough that I no longer want to dedicate the time and expense it takes to fix a modern car. 

The emphasis now is to overload a vehicle with options and functionality. The philosophy seems to be the more things we can say this car does - the easier it is to market. When the real bump is the fact that that adds hundreds of more parts engineered to fail. And expensive to fix because they've been strategically placed in very difficult locations. Alot of modern transmission are even built or positioned in a way that you can not change the fluid. They try to get away with saying they never need the fluid changed. Which is an obvious lie. 

But the thing that really gets me beyond the added expense - having to buy a much more expensive product, that isn't going to last as long, is going to be much harder to repair, and will have to be "recycled" (which we all know doesn't work) and you'll end buying 3 of them in the same amount of time - you used to only have to buy one. Is the pollution. 

The biggest issue facing manufacturing is pollution. And every major and minor manufacturer has a pollution policy and plan and gives endless lip service to how they are trying to help the environment. 

While at the same time creating 3 times the junk we use. And throwing it away each time. 

If you added up the additional pollution of digging the raw materials out of the ground or creating the raw materials, burning all the pollution to manufacture each additional item, ship the parts and final product all over the world, and then dispose of it. And we are doing that like 3 times over. Way more than we even have in history. 

It's like one of the biggest lies perpetuated by industry. "We care about the environment. We care about value to our customers." While at the same time making products substandard on purpose so they can sell three times as many. Because they won't last as long. (And that's just a guess. The number could be higher.). That are next to impossible or very difficult to repair. End up costing consumers way more money over a lifetime. (How many modern cars can you get thru life with? Versus 30 years ago? How many toasters? How many computers? How many phones? The list goes on and on.) 

While at the same time completely ignoring and completely hiding the toll on the environment this has to have. It must be massive. We can't even effectively deal with our normal waste. Recycling is largely a failure. Another industry backed solution for a problem they've largely intensified by a huge magnitude. 

I'm at a point in my life. Having had the luxury of living thru both a time when products value was based on their longevity. Versus now - a products value being based on all the largely unnecessary things it can do. I refuse to buy a modern car. I recently bought a new Suzuki Jimny only because it is one of the few car companies still producing 1990s tech in a very capable off road vehicle. That will last forever because everything is still easily repairable and built to last. It has become very hard to find that these days. And why millions of Americans have been loudly fighting for a cheap, simple, truck they can afford to buy, afford to repair, and is simple enough it doesn't have 20,000 unnecessary parts engineered to fail. 

I know this is a rant. And I apologize. But it seriously feels like we are on a collision course to bankrupt every American or kill the earth with a massive pile of crap we could have built better. And that could have lasted alot longer had we simply stuck to building things that last and things that are easy to repair. 

Quote from: Uomo Senza Nome on January 09, 2026, 02:27:05 PMI repaired my home elliptical by unplugging the old computer for it and plugging a new one in. Took about five minutes and cost $40.

I repaired my laptop by replacing the power socket with easily available parts on line. It cost $12.

I tried to repair my six month old cell phone which was under warranty insurance by taking it to the repair place but the screen had leaked fluid all over the inside and was beyond repair, so new phone under the insurance plan.

I repaired my refrigerator by buying a new ice maker on line and swapping it out when it went TU. That took almost an hour and cost $110 for the ice maker, but was cheaper than $300 the service guy wanted.

Couldn't fix my Aurora A24 ti flashlight after it went for a ride in the washer and broke the unlock button. The front button still works but there is no way to repair the back one, which is annoying. I paid $75 and think it was a little high but the part can't be more than $2-4. Great light up till then.

Good for you, Uomo! I follow the same strategy. I try to repair or have repaired everything I can. And try to buy things that are easier to repair. And try to avoid those items in the top 10% of price that seems to come with a 50% mark up for just 10% more functionality and 50% more parts engineered to fail. That in the end I don't really need. 

I'm not sure there is a vehicle built past the mid 2000s that I would even recommend as a bug out or post apocalypse vehicle. 

One thing that prepping does do for you is see clearly what products work, are going to continue working, and if broken are at least fixable in some way. 

I think we are uniquely qualified to identify smart choices in terms of the things we buy. 

The question we ask is always "What do I need this to do?". Nothing more. Nothing less. The simpler the better. We can of course identify dual purpose items or added functionality - but only if it doesn't undermine what we need the item to do in the first place and the additional functionality is worthwhile - usable. 

Quote from: Moab on January 10, 2026, 12:05:13 AMI'm not sure there is a vehicle built past the mid 2000s that I would even recommend as a bug out or post apocalypse vehicle.

One thing that prepping does do for you is see clearly what products work, are going to continue working, and if broken are at least fixable in some way.

I think we are uniquely qualified to identify smart choices in terms of the things we buy.

The question we ask is always "What do I need this to do?". Nothing more. Nothing less. The simpler the better. We can of course identify dual purpose items or added functionality - but only if it doesn't undermine what we need the item to do in the first place and the additional functionality is worthwhile - usable.

Principal 15: Gear purchased should be as simple as possible but able to fulfill its purpose for which it was purchased. Adaptability and added function are bonuses, but not primary to its core function.