By Colleen Rothe

I’m starting to believe that either I have a curse upon me where every microwave oven I touch is destined to die a day after its warranty has expired; or the various manufacturers have conspired to simply not make them last that long.

After a week of research, what I found was that it simply depends on how often you use your microwave, the amount of time you use it, and what quality build it is that determines its longevity.

That said, however, the microwaves of our youth that lasted like refrigerators are gone even though appliance experts still contend that they should last up to 10 years. Ten years? Not since the first monstrosity microwave that took up half the countertop my parents owned back in the early 80’s have I seen a microwave last that long.

Personally, I’ve gone through two microwaves in the last year: one at my office and one at home. Both were off brands, one manufactured in Malaysia and the other in Korea. So a simple lesson of you get what you pay for may apply in these cases. However, the replacement that I bought for my home was of higher quality and it’s beginning to show signs that it might be on the fritz.

So what gives?

What gives is that because of the hazards of repairing microwave ovens, most often it’s cheaper to purchase a new one as opposed to repairing it. Even CNN Money reported last month that if your appliance costs less than $20, “Don’t sweat the small stuff…. junk it without further thought. Repairing a relatively inexpensive item like a cordless phone or countertop microwave is not cost-effective.”

The National Association of Home Builders contends there is not a hard and fast rule on appliance longevity, especially a microwave.

Therefore, it appears that manufacturers are realizing that and trying to make the ovens less and less expensive, whereby cutting back on quality. Even Consumer Reports hasn’t done longevity testing on microwaves since 1997.

So when consumers demand that products be cheap over longer operational life, you are left with products that are not created to be repaired, but rather replaced. Consumer goods aren’t made to last, but rather have what is now being dubbed “planned obsolescence.”

It’s not necessarily upgrading to better technology – like say the latest video game console, cell phone or MP3 player – or, as is my beef, longevity. Ask any appliance repair person, plumber, electrician, even general contractor. They will grumble that the bane of their world oftentimes is plastic. Components that used to be made with metal are now made with plastic. When they deteriorate, there likely aren’t parts for it. It’s too costly. So I am told, “Just buy a new one, Ms. Rothe, and quit your griping.” Yes, plastic parts often times can be spotlighted as to why things just don’t last anymore. Cost of metal versus plastic for many years made the smart manufacturer choose plastic. The plastic also made the microwaves lighter, a selling point for many consumers.

Can you go to the local appliance store and ask for a microwave made mainly of metal. No, you can’t. But you can shop around. Many rating boards, including Consumer Reports, CNN Money, and MSN Business, claim that Sears has the market cornered on quality for microwaves. But that is more for usable capacity, convenience features, as well as cost. What you don’t seem to want is anything made by General Electric. There is a long laundry list of fear-factor moments with these ovens posted by affected consumers on a variety of Web sites, although I was unable to find them on any recall list.

Some manufacturers will honor outside the warranty if there is a bulk of complaints for the same thing, but you could be without your appliance while a rather long process of determination occurs and you may be asked to produce your original receipt.

The bottom line is that the only protection a consumer can provide from the microwave that dies the day after its warranty expires is to factor that possibility into your purchase decision.

After detailing all of this, my coffee is cold. Guess I’ll go warm it up in the new, barely-within-its-warranty microwave. I’ll let you know this time next year if it’s still working.

How long has your microwave lasted?