Reasonable duration of fridge

Thoie

Just wondering what people's expectations would be in regards the reasonable duration of a fridge/freezer. From previous experience I've always expected them to last 10-15 years. I have a 5 year old fridge/freezer that's giving problems and the supplier thinks that a reasonable expectation would be 4-6 years.

I'm asking for the purposes of looking at repair, replacement or refund.

seamus

5-10 years seems to be the norm for them breaking down, from what I've seen.

Whether that's a reasonable duration is hard to say. Considering that fridge freezers are a large white good but you can still get a decent one for the guts of €300, then 5-10 years does seem fairly reasonable. If I'd paid €1,000 for it, then I'd expect to get 10-15 years out of it, no doubt.

Nody

Anything beyond 10 years would be a bonus, 5 to 10 is what I'd expect (and that is not assuming it will work flawless for that time).

jack presley

I reckon 7

ejmaztec

Fridges are a lot more energy efficient these days (A++ etc ), so having an older one repaired so that it can carry on chewing up the electricity might not be as cost-effective as replacing it with a new one.

foggy_lad

Thoie wrote: »

Just wondering what people's expectations would be in regards the reasonable duration of a fridge/freezer. From previous experience I've always expected them to last 10-15 years. I have a 5 year old fridge/freezer that's giving problems and the supplier thinks that a reasonable expectation would be 4-6 years.

I'm asking for the purposes of looking at repair, replacement or refund.

The sale of goods act affords you protection for up to 6years(statute of limitations) and after this the retailer does not have to do anything.

dudara

It's a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. It can depend on whether you had it in a well-ventilated space, if you defrosted it regularly, if you had kids swinging off it or not.

However, I would say that a fridge should be capable of lasting at least 5-7 years, and probably more like 7-10.

Thoie

foggy_lad wrote: »

The sale of goods act affords you protection for up to 6years(statute of limitations) and after this the retailer does not have to do anything.

I didn't think it was specified as 6 years, but rather "reasonable expected lifetime".

dudara wrote: »

It's a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. It can depend on whether you had it in a well-ventilated space, if you defrosted it regularly, if you had kids swinging off it or not.

However, I would say that a fridge should be capable of lasting at least 5-7 years, and probably more like 7-10.

True - should have specified "One careful lady owner, full defrosting history, 0 mileage" It's properly ventilated and cleaned (inside and out) according to manufacturer's recommendations, and has never had anyone swinging off it.

seamus

Thoie wrote: »

I didn't think it was specified as 6 years, but rather "reasonable expected lifetime".

You are correct, however the statute of limitations basically means that you can only make a claim for a fault within 6 years of creation of the contract. So even if the reasonable expected lifetime is 30 years, the retailer's obligation to you is dissolved after 6.

This in effect puts a ceiling on all "reasonable expected lifetimes" of 6 years.

Nonoperational

Personally I wouldn't think it's outrageous that it needs a bit of attention after 5 years. Not great but I wouldn't expect the retailer to stand over it after 5 years.

kelle

I have had my fridge for nearly 14 years and it's still going strong!

maxer68

Thoie wrote: »

Just wondering what people's expectations would be in regards the reasonable duration of a fridge/freezer. From previous experience I've always expected them to last 10-15 years. I have a 5 year old fridge/freezer that's giving problems and the supplier thinks that a reasonable expectation would be 4-6 years.

I'm asking for the purposes of looking at repair, replacement or refund.

What are the problems? - You may find an easy fix online.

I had problems with a samsung FF last week, - Fridge part was not working - was quoted €100 + vat to come out & repair. Did online search and fixed it myself within an hour - and I'm crap at diy. - OK, it was probably 2 hours.

slimjimmc

seamus wrote: »

You are correct, however the statute of limitations basically means that you can only make a claim for a fault within 6 years of creation of the contract. So even if the reasonable expected lifetime is 30 years, the retailer's obligation to you is dissolved after 6.

This in effect puts a ceiling on all "reasonable expected lifetimes" of 6 years.

Not sure that's quite accurate Seamus.

According to the statute

(1) The following actions shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued—

That suggests to me that you have 6 years from when the problem first became apparent to the plaintiff.

So using your example of a reasonably expected lifetime of 30 years. If the item died in year 28, you still have up to another 6 years to lodge a claim against the vendor but level of the redress you can expect remains constrained by the 30yr lifetime.

Similarly for an item with an expected lifetime of 4 years, you can make a claim in the next 6 years but it won't change the fact that the item shouldn't be expected to last more than 4 years.


The "reasonable expected lifetime" does not change (whatever it's duration) so you can expect protection up to that reasonable lifetime. The statute of limitations just puts a time limit on how long after the problem arises you can take out a legal case.