For the vacuum its a matter of budget. A used commercial vacuum is generally worth it pending price. At least if it breaks you can get parts for a little bit as they generally make the same models for a few years.

Alternatively I have bought what id call very simple no frills somewhat inexpensive vacuums for the last two ive had. If you go for one that is simple and easy to take apart and clean thats a good step in the right direction.
Dont get the auto retractable wire as its less reliable also. I bought a 70 dollar name brand vac 6 years ago and its still going strong. Mostly because its easy to maintain and cheap to fix if it does break which it hasn't yet.

Dryer i have is the model you have a stereotype picture of in your head because its been made for so long by so many sub brands its just ultra common. The parts all are real cheap other than the control board. Gas valves and ignitor are both like ten dollar parts. Ill find the current model its being sold as and link you later.

Same w the washer. Basic top loader. No frills , no fancy display just knobs for controls. The more basic you go the more reliable it tends to be. All those fancy bells and whistles are nice until they fail.

Both washer and dryer are over ten years old. If i had to guess closer to 20 yo.

I don't know if any very modern appliances could have BIFL applied to them. I'd strongly advise you to stay away from any that have elctronic touchpad control*, except for microwaves. The circuit boards run nearly $200 to replace. Look on your local Facebook Marketplace for used. People "upgrade" and put perfectly good working items up for sale.

*I say this from having worked in the semiconductor industry my whole career, with hands-n experience making the circuitry that goes into those boards.

>"Same w the washer. Basic top loader. No frills , no fancy display just knobs for controls. The more basic you go the more reliable it tends to be. All those fancy bells and whistles are nice until they fail."
>
>100% truth. Well said.

I dont do it for a living but help friends and family out. The last few other people's washers or appliances ive worked on had something silly break and the sheer cost of replacement wasn't worth it. They both ended up buying new machines.
I do engineering for a living. I always try to design things as simple and reliable as possible because I am aware of how often poor design is the cause of an item or brand getting a bad rep. Also the saying that all moving parts eventually fail is absolutely true so minimize things that can wear out or make them beefy as hell so they at least make it awhile before breaking.

"BIFL" and "budget" are contradictory to each other. You can't have both when it comes to appliances.

The older appliances are easier and cheaper to repair. Of course, "older" means different things to different people. To me "older" in trems of large appliances means made in the 2000s or earlier. People will think "oh, that's too old, I need something much newer" and my thought is "why"? If it still works well why not use it?

Right now there is is an awesome Whirpool washer & matching electric dryer set on my local Facebook Marletplace for $450. An upscale top-loading washer and a dryer with a door that drops down from the center (important!) Lots of dials & settings which means a deluxe model. If had room to store them I'd buy them myself, I just don't need either one right now.

Was about to say the same.

No there are plenty of appliances that can last 20+ years, they just cost a lot more so they aren't popular with consumers.

The electronics thing is the same: there's nothing special with making electronics last for decades: it just costs more. Most consumer appliances are a race to the bottom so that's one of the first things where quality can be cut without it being immediately obvious.

If you are buying commercial or a high-end brand, having electronics controls should not be an issue.

Even Speedqueen is abandoning their mechanical controls, but they are designing it correctly. The electronic controls actually have a longer warranty than their mechanical ones.

How long is a SpeedQueen warranty?

It says 5 years for electronics control, 3 years for mechanical.

Wow, that's not very long at all. My previous washing machine, a Kenmore that I bought in 2000, lasted almost 15 years before needing anything. And that was just an easily swappable timer.

The matching dryer lasted about the same amount of time before needing a heating element.

5 years and 3 years would scare me.

You're confusing lifetime with warranty.

No appliance has ever had more than a 5 year warranty as far as I know. Most stuff at a big-box store is just 1 year. Even my "built like a panzer tank" Miele came with 3 years despite it being built to last 20, though I could pay to extend it to 5 years but I didn't see a point.

Warranty just covers things breaking from early failure or something not being put together at the factory correctly. It's not meant to cover the whole lifetime of the appliance.

Even the stuff you mentioned that lasted 15+ years didn't have more than a 3-5 year warranty, guaranteed. You can check yourself.

Like, Toyotas have a 100k mile warranty. Would you expect it to only last 100k miles?

BoilerButtSlut, I have been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty

For a vacuum, shop around for a used Rainbow. They last decades and decades. We have two, both about 1970 model or so. I've had to replace the control switch (a common $10 heavy dipole) in one of them. That's it. We paid $100 for one of them, and $15 (yes $15) for the other one.

OK

I understand what you mean.

I guess I should have been more clear. Its more about simplicity than anything else. The older stuff is def simpler for sure though.

I really like LG. Similar in quality or better, than Bosch, imho. They are just garden variety appliances--but I've had them for years without problems. There may be some super-high-quality (SUPER expensive) appliances out there....but other than commercial grade--I don't know what they are. (I wonder what kind of washer/dryer (the maids of) Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos uses?)

You need to be specific to get specific help here.

Where do you live.

Budget.

Washing machines come in like 3 form factors. Which one.

Vacuum cleaners are purchased based on floor type.

ACs are purchased based on square footage which we don't know and they are based on BTU not HP.

grab you a kitchenaid stand mixer, a vitamix blender and kirkland stainless steel pan set while you're at it.

KitchenAid mixer and Vitamix blender is the ultimate BIFL combo

Thanks for your reply.

As I mentioned I'm looking for "budget friendly". IE much more important for it to be durable and long lasting than initial money wise investment. For me, at least, the term budget friendly means long term operation that doesn't require repairs and expensive maintenance.

Sorry if I wasn't clear about that point.

Thanks.

Can you think of specific models that are especially wortg looking into?

Thank you.

I actually already have a wierd (orange) 70s KitchenAid, still going strong though I don't use it much. But if possible to somehow buy it I would definitely advise as it's a great piece of machinery.

Thanks.

What you wrote makes perfect sense and that's the reason I was looking for a basic no nonsense devices. I don't need or use any special features or programs in any of my appliances anyway. For me these are all just more things that can break down after a while.

BTW I had to replace some electrical command boards in my mom's fridge, oven, acs and other devices. Often the cost was almost as high as getting a whole new appliance. The only reason I chose to repair instead was all the secondary costs such as shipping, installation, disposal of the old unit etc.

Right there with ya'.

Oh then for washing machine you're looking at commercial models.

Miele supposedly has really good vacuum cleaners though I've never used them. Electrolux seems to also make some good stuff if you go high end.

I looked at Friedrich air conditioners for some rentals I manage. They are made for industrial environments and can take a beating and last a long time. I ended up being able to repair the old one and didn't need it, but that's what I found as a BIFL alternative that I will get when it breaks next.

3 year warrantee on a commercial appliance means they expect it to hold up for 3 years of 6-10 hours a day of use.

My parents got a Miele washing machine when they got married and it's still going strong today. They've been married for 25 years.

I bet that mixer is a beast though. I just repaired my old silver chef. I have a fondness for older kitchen appliances due to the repairable nature of them.