What's the oldest piece of tech you still have running?

And tell me how proud of it you are.

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I've got a Miele washing machine that's the best part of 40 years old. It's required some maintenance over the years. However, it was designed with maintenance in mind, so all the repairs have been fairly painless.
My 5 year old dishwasher, on the other hand, has cost me more time, money and stress than the (very overworked) washing machine.
- Miele shit just continues to exist inexplicably. Literally unbreakable (permanently). And according to what I've read, at least, their modern stuff has not dropped in quality
  I honestly can't think of any brands that have anything close to that longevity
  
  It's the little things that count.
  The drain pump is just 3 bolts to take off (pump came back to life after I tipped it. The new one is still sat in the cupboard a decade later).
  The electronics are mounted on their own door. They swing out, and are VERY easy to service.
  The wiring diagram was in a plastic wallet inside the machine.
  The shocks are easy to access and come off with an M10 spanner and are easy access.
  Those are just the ones that have noticed explicitly, the whole machine was built with that mentality.
  
  I used a Miele hoover as a shop vac, hoovering wall plaster, muck and sawdust etc and pretty much abused it - replaced all filters and gave it a good clean and it still works like new. That was 5 years ago and it's still going fine.
- IMHO, if a dishwasher isn’t under warranty, and it’s a mechanical or electrical issue, you might just want to replace it. The cost of technician and parts can add up, and a new machine with a good reviews is only around $500 usd.
  
  It's a bit crappy that manufacturers have managed to essentially force us into a subscription for our home appliances, by making self repair uneconomical and expensive, almost guaranteeing a replacement every 4-5 years.
  The repair contract on my washing machine is about to run out, and that thing has been serviced many times at this point. Once for a blown mainboard, burnt out motor, and other miscellaneous issues that some of the techs haven't been able to identify, having to return again with more bits.
  At least I have a spare mainboard now and the last tech fitted a brand new motor, which is way quieter than the horrifically loud original one
  
  Agreed. IMHO, Bosch has a pretty good track record for dishwashers. Those things usually last a good long while.
  
  It's fixed now. It was a 10p sensor embedded in a £65 piece of plastic. The error message had me barking up the wrong tree. It's fixed now, at least.
  I dislike being wasteful. When my last TV died, while I replaced it, I then fixed it, and gave it to a friend. £10 backlight, and an hour or so of effort.
  
  Why? Mine went error 17, that's water in the bottom, turns out the seals had become damaged over the years. 1€ replacement part, 25 Minutes of time and a YouTube video and the thing has been running for 3 years as of now, again (total age 12 years).

385 comments