It is hard to keep track of trends in all areas of the consumer market in the age of continual change. Last year's hot new electrical appliance may already be gathering dust at the back of a warehouse as this season's groundbreaking technology is introduced to the public.
The appliance which you thought would solve all your domestic problems now, it seems, belongs on the Ark. So what do you do if your investment suddenly stops working? If you lug the offending object back to the shop where you bought it, invariably, you'll find yourself under the scrutiny of a raised eyebrow and hear the dreaded phrase: "Oh, we don't stock those anymore, they stopped manufacturing them when the new model came out." So where do you go from there?
Fortunately, with a bit of detective work you should be able to find most of what you're looking for. Help is out there, it's just a matter of knowing where to go.
Take the Carrick Hoover Centre on the Carrickbrennan Road in Monkstown, Co Dublin. Established in 1971 by Joe English, it was originally a repair agent for Hoover, but has since expanded into a retail outlet plus repair centre for a variety of kitchen appliances. Now run by Joe's son, David, the company is thriving and is still recommended by Hoover as the place to go if you've a problem. The great thing about this place is that you get spare parts going back 60 years, which means you really might find help for that old soldier. They are able to fix almost any appliance, and if they don't have the specific part needed, they can usually modify existing parts to fit your machine, says David. Having spent every school holiday working with his father in the business, he says he was able "to strip down and rebuild any vacuum cleaner by the time I was 10 years old".
"Most parts come from little old ladies who simply can't pull the older model of Hoover around anymore, and they're looking for something more modern and lightweight," he says. Such is the size of his collection of very old models that he is looking for a museum to display them. While the repair side of the business is doing well, he believes "there is definitely a trend, of late, for people to buy cheap machines, keep them for a couple of years and buy a new one to avoid the hassle of getting them serviced".
Estimates for repairing appliances from vacuum cleaners to dishwashers are sometimes free. And although it sometimes seems as if repairs are out of date in the disposable society, there are many other businesses out there happy to fix your broken appliances.
