I do think that to a certain extent planned obsolescence is real, but a manufacturer is playing with fire if they intentionally build inferior products. Competition is real and it can bring down even what seems like the mightiest of companies.
That said, why aren't cell phones waterproof?
Why did Toyota put plastic timing chain dampers in my '91 pickup truck? They broke at some point, allowing the timing chain to wobble around, which caused it to chew a hole through the timing chain cover, which allowed the coolant and oil to mix. I was 19 at the time and drove the thing around for a couple months in that condition. I'd have to change the oil and refill the radiator often, and more often as I kept driving around. When my dad finally helped me fix it (I couldn't drive across town without having to stop and add more oil) we went to a junkyard for a replacement timing chain cover. My pickup had 110,000 miles on it. The truck we pulled the cover from had 101,000 miles and the timing chain dampers must have broken on it too because there was the beginnings of the same grove cut into it. So why did Toyota put in a plastic part that required the entire head be removed to get at? But if they went cheep on that part why did I put 20,000 some odd thousand more miles on the truck after it was fixed with no problems, even though it had been driven with water and oil mixed together for a couple months? Did they want me to buy a whole new car or not?
That said, why aren't cell phones waterproof?
Why did Toyota put plastic timing chain dampers in my '91 pickup truck? They broke at some point, allowing the timing chain to wobble around, which caused it to chew a hole through the timing chain cover, which allowed the coolant and oil to mix. I was 19 at the time and drove the thing around for a couple months in that condition. I'd have to change the oil and refill the radiator often, and more often as I kept driving around. When my dad finally helped me fix it (I couldn't drive across town without having to stop and add more oil) we went to a junkyard for a replacement timing chain cover. My pickup had 110,000 miles on it. The truck we pulled the cover from had 101,000 miles and the timing chain dampers must have broken on it too because there was the beginnings of the same grove cut into it. So why did Toyota put in a plastic part that required the entire head be removed to get at? But if they went cheep on that part why did I put 20,000 some odd thousand more miles on the truck after it was fixed with no problems, even though it had been driven with water and oil mixed together for a couple months? Did they want me to buy a whole new car or not?
