Things you should replace, but don't want to buy a new one

[onestronglittlelady]

So my printer I bought 2nd hand is 11 years old. Yesterday it started making a terrible sound, and wouldn't print. My hubby is a mechanic and we have a motorcycle shop. So asked him to look at it. He got it working, and gave me the speech about just replacing it.

Then my charger for my cell phone died. I went to buy a new one and was told they no longer have the charger as the phone is obsolete (it is only 2 years old!). Thank God for packrat friends and a full junk drawer. So I should replace the phone soon, but I don't like the "touchy" phones and I know where all the keys are on mine.

What do you have in your life that you should just replace, but like the one you have, even if it has quirks?

[cariad]

Oh, can I relate to this. My little clamshell phone!!! I loved it - it could make calls, texting was turned off and it could not access the internet. It had real buttons that you could use while wearing gloves. I happen to be related to one of Steve Job's biggest fans, though. I cannot complain as this cost me nothing, but he insisted on buying both my husband and me iPhones. I hate AT&T, and hate Verizon more. So now I have a big phone that can do just about anything, but drops calls constantly. People pay for this? All I can say is that the free apps keep the boys entertained, so that is at least worth it. I went into mourning for my old mobile, and it took me weeks to even want to bother learning how to use my new phone. Still not totally happy with it, but I'm over the loss.

I also like CRT televisions. We have one flat screen, and it's beautiful, but those CRTs last a lifetime, and the flat screens have an average screen life of around 5 years.

My darling husband has tried to replace my books with a NOOKcolor. Again, absolutely beautiful device, and definitely a dream come true in terms of solving storage problems, but it is taking me forever to warm up to the thing. I have yet to make my first ebook purchase, and I have a credit that expires soon, so that will have to happen in the next couple of weeks.

Oh, I am sure there is so much more. I think I just have a hard time with change.

[jbeany]

My inherited 18 year old car.  It was Gram's, so it's got less than 80,000 miles on it.  She rarely went more than a couple of miles a week in it.  She did run the front end into the wall of the garage quite a bit, so it's rather banged up in the front.  I got rear-ended this winter, so there's a matching set of scrapes and dings on the back.  It's now so old they are discontinuing replacement parts for it. 

But it runs, it gets good gas mileage, and it's a station wagon, so it's incredibly handy for hauling people, moving things, and power shopping trips.  And the insurance is cheap and, hey, it was free!

[Des]

My husband? I think I won't be able to operate the new one. 

My microwave oven. Some of the buttons are broken (19 years old)  but looking at the latests models you need a degree in physics to operate it. So I am sticking to my old one. 

[Sugarlump]

My car.
But I like my old Ronnie the rover he never makes a fuss about starting in cold weather or going out in the middle of the night and
for an R reg he's only done 50K miles so in good nick. Just one small dent in the bumper where I reversed into post in front of my house, twice. I don't do backwards very well!!!!
I have my eye on a new Fiat Twin Air 500 thing in cream with retro cream interior and rolltop sunroof. Very eco friendly and Murphy will look great with his head sticking out of roof but will it be as kind to me as a female driver and not break down in out of way places or get flat tire in the rain etc
Sometimes better the devil you know ... 
That goes for husbands as well Des !!!!

[TexanSummer]

My daughter's t.v.

I know most kids don't have a t.v. in their room, but this one....it's a blast from the past! It was my husband's t.v. when he was a kid...it's over 20 years old!!! No remote (doesn't work with it anymore), buttons have been pushed in (but if you stick a pencil through the tiny hole where the button used to be, you can still adjust the volume & change the channels!!!), & sometimes the picture gets a little out of whack (but if you wiggle the cables just right, it goes back to normal).....   

[Poppylicious]

Gosh, nothing. We're getting new settees, a new car and Blokey's buying me a new phone for my birthday.  I am terribly spoilt.

Although, I do want a new washing machine and a new fridge-freezer ... But Blokey says, 'No!'

Tsk.

 

[gothiclovemonkey]

sounds like my sons tv, its so old it doesnt have the holes to attach a dvd player, but has built in VHS lol (good thng i still own a ton of vhs cartoons!!)
my tv doesnt have cable access...
I had one of those flat screen hdtvs but it was robbed, and i didnt like it enough to go spend that much on one again...

My lovely phone, is not even 2 years old. I love it, they dont make it anymore, it shuts off by itself, sends alien text, doesnt recieve half the calls i get lol i wish they still made them, i love it.

Well, this really isnt the same thing, but I just wanna say, I wish I still had my original computer, the floppy disc kind lol it had some fun games! AND atari!!!! i miss it so much. Pong <3

i may only be 27, but honestly, with the exception of fans and air conditioning, maybe internet, id be just fine living way back in the day, oh and of course the life saving stuff...

[knittingdan]

Probably my Kindle.  It got soaked in water a few months back, and now the battery only holds a charge for1-2 days.  I'd get one of the new models, but the battery thing is really the only bit wrong with it, and I just got a lovely leather case that wont' fit a new model.

[KICKSTART]

my car and my body !!!!

[Stoday]

My "Wolf Cub" electric drill.

I bought it second hand in 1960 for 5/- (five shillings, £0.25) and I still use it for light work.

[okarol]

We need a new roof. When we bought the house they said there was about 10 years left on the 20 year roof. It's now been 16! Luckily no leaks *knock wood* but at some point the shake layers since 1927 are going to need replacing.  $$$

[YLGuy]

my poor, poor truck. 208,000 miles on it. Broken radiator hose that is taped up but still leaks. None of the doors can be opened from the inside.  the AC has never worked.  Broken handles and knobs. One of the cylinders does not fire...I could go on.  It has been good to me over the years taking me and my kids on so many camping trips.  Alas, because of the engine problems the service engine soon light has been on for about 2 years now.  I cannot get a smog certificate because of the light.  I can't re-register it because I can't smog it. I can't insure it because I can't register it.  Sometimes I just want to give up.

[Sugarlump]

My reading glasses!
And finally admit they aren't strong enough for me to see to type at night!!!   

[okarol]

my poor, poor truck. 208,000 miles on it. Broken radiator hose that is taped up but still leaks. None of the doors can be opened from the inside.  the AC has never worked.  Broken handles and knobs. One of the cylinders does not fire...I could go on.  It has been good to me over the years taking me and my kids on so many camping trips.  Alas, because of the engine problems the service engine soon light has been on for about 2 years now.  I cannot get a smog certificate because of the light.  I can't re-register it because I can't smog it. I can't insure it because I can't register it.  Sometimes I just want to give up.

I am not saying you should do this HOWEVER I know someone who had the gas station reset the light to see if it was a faulty light, in the meantime they immediately went and got a smog check and it passed! Light went back on two days later.

[onestronglittlelady]

My husband? I think I won't be able to operate the new one. 

My microwave oven. Some of the buttons are broken (19 years old)  but looking at the latests models you need a degree in physics to operate it. So I am sticking to my old one.

After having my husband for 17 years, I wouldn't know how to operate a new one either!

[MooseMom]

Like some of you, a car.

I have a 1992 Toyota Camry stationwagon that used to belong to my parents.  After my dad died, my mom remarried, and she just didn't need this car but couldn't bear selling it, so she gave it to me.  It is in good shape because my dad always took good care of his cars.  But there are a lot of little things wrong with it.  The trunk door won't stay open in winter, so if I put groceries in the boot, I have to hold the door open with one hand and put groceries in with the other, not an easy thing to do when you have a fistula in one arm.  Several years ago, the battery kept going dead.  Our mechanic finally figured out that a circuit had degraded so the battery never really "turned off" when the engine did.  He had to get the schematics from Toyota, and he rigged a system where I have to flip a toggle switch to turn on that particular circuit, which is fine, but it means that when the toggle switch is off, the battery doesn't run down (which is good) but the radio and the interior lights won't work, either.  That means I can't pre-set any radio stations (they're wiped when the toggle switch is off), and I always have to get into a dark car at night.  So, when I get into the car, I have to flip the toggle switch and set my radio stations..it's like powering up the Shuttle.

But her name is Stella ("Stella Stationwagon") and she belonged to my parents, and I am loathe to replace her.

My mom bought herself a new BMW, but that meant she had to do away with her Acura.  My dad spent years decided whether or not to spend the money on a new car.  He eventually allowed himself the luxury, and he chose the Acura.  He died just a few month after he bought it; he never got to enjoy it.  So, to keep it in the family, my mom gave the Acura to us.  My husband drives it (I'm stuck with Stella); I've named her "Betty" because she is white ("Betty White"...geddit?)

My mom died just a few months after getting her new car; just like my dad, she never got to enjoy it.  The estate sold it.  I got to drive it while my mom was ill; it was a beautiful car, and it could have been mine, but I had no sentimental attachment to it.  And it didn't have a name, so it was easy to be rid of it.

I'm scared of getting a new car!

[YLGuy]

My husband? I think I won't be able to operate the new one. 

My microwave oven. Some of the buttons are broken (19 years old)  but looking at the latests models you need a degree in physics to operate it. So I am sticking to my old one.

After having my husband for 17 years, I wouldn't know how to operate a new one either!

Our operator's manual is about the size of a pamphlet. The women's manual gives War and Peace a run for it's money. (and just when you finish it, it goes back to editing for changes)

[Sugarlump]

OY not all women are like that y'know some of us are easily pleased! 

[Chris]

I don't know yet, but sure there is something. I will have to post what comes to mind later.
 
As for a 2 year old phone being obsolete in getting parts, answer - eBay, Amazon, Overstock.com. I have all my cell phones and accessories since I started in 1997. From Candybar, clamshell, to touch screen.

[Riki]

I can't really think of anything either, but a year ago, I think, my mother broke down and finally bought a new microwave.  The old one was bought not that long after my brother was born, somewhere between 1984 and 1987.  Besides the start button, the only buttons that worked was the 1, 2, and the 0.

I think the tv that my parents had when they got married is still downstairs somewhere.  It was before the days of remote controls, had vhf and uhf dials, and had a pull on/push off power switch.  I used to like watching it shut down.  The picture went into a little square at the centre of the screen, and for some reason, I thought it looked like a beach

My grandparents have a floor model tv that they bought in 1984 and used right up till last Christmas, when the family got together and bought them a new hd tv.  The old one was bigger, it had a much bigger screen, and there was a little hole next to the number buttons to put the remote when you weren't using it.  There used to be a door to cover the v-hold and contrast buttons, but one of us grandkids broke it off years ago.  The v-hold was broken, the button to fix it was gone, so the picture would roll periodically.  My grandmother said that she didn't even notice it, but it drove me nuts.  The floor model tv is still in their living room, the new tv is sitting on top of it.

[Jess21]

Hmmm...my boyfriend's family is very technologically up-to-date (something comes out new...they most likely get it).  So they all have flat screen TVs.  Then there's my house.  My mom has one my dad bought several years before he died (thinking 2000?) downstairs and the one that got replaced by that one upstairs.  I had my grandma's TV (circa 1990) in my room til it sounded like it was about to explode a few years back.  Pretty sure TV downstairs weighs 100lbs....  I feel like I go back a few years every night when I come back, LOL

Oh I found my mom's microwave from the 80s in my crawlspace.  Took that sucker out to the curb...the muscles around my transplant hurt for a bit after that...that thing was HEAVY!