Do you have a product that has broken and can no longer be repaired? Are you in the market for a replacement? Take a moment to consider how easily repairable your next purchase will be with these handy tips.
What can make a product easy to repair?
Signs to look out for include:
- > A detailed product manual, preferably with a maintenance guide
- > Spare parts available from the manufacturer
- > If the product has a plastic casing, look for if it is assembled using screws and bolts. These are preferred over hidden plastic clips so that cosmetic damage can minimised during disassembly
Electronics
Smartphones, Tablets and Laptops
Find reviews rating the ease of repair of the latest computing devices with a rating out of 10 at iFixit.com:
Power Tools
Most workshop power tools from quality brands (Makita, Dewalt, etc) are designed for disassembly and have spare parts available. However, caution should be taken if purchasing power tools from Bunnings outlets, since they often have exclusive product deals with suppliers that are not compatible with commonly available spare parts (even from the same manufacturer).
Kitchen Appliances
Toasters
Toasters are frequent visitors to repair sessions. While some aspects of toasters can be repaired, element issues are often difficult to fix due to toaster construction and part availability.
However, the Dualit Classic toaster range are designed for repair, and they even sells replacement elements (and other parts) that can be installed with simple tools. They are available in 2, 3, 4, and 6 slice variants.
