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Almost 20 years ago I bought a John Deere lawn tractor for my yard. I had been envying one for a long time. We had one growing up and I knew as soon as I had enough land I would but one. At the time I think I paid $1,500 which was and is still a lot of money. My friends told me I was crazy when I could get another brand for less than half of that. I thought about it but knew about the quality and reputation. I could get parts, it was easy to work on and there was a local dealer nearby if I needed one for something above my repair skills. My friends all purchased other various brands and let me know how much money they saved. Two years goes by and the first one dies, engine not to be revived. New purchase. The following year 2 others ended their life as lawn mowers and had to be replace. This cycle continued on for the last 19 years. To date - the three friends have bought more then 12 new tractors. The have spent much more than I have. In addition there are a lot more tractors that made it to the landfills creating an even greater problem.
My question is this… are we a disposable culture now, have manufactures stopped designing for the long term?