Washing machines will last, on average, around 12 years and many are kept for 16 plus years. If yours is older than 16, you might start budgeting to replace it. Gas ranges are used an average of 16 years, but are often in people's homes for almost 25 years. Electric ranges have an estimated average useful life of 15 years, extending to 20 years. Maybe you'll want to check the Buying Guide for the repair records of specific brands of CD players, VCRs, TV sets, camcorders, vacuums, ranges, refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, lawn mowers and tractors, and computers.
Some products require far fewer repairs than others.
Coverage in the Buying Guide often refers you to the monthly Consumer Reports magazine. For example, the article in the Buying Guide about refrigerators describes different models, reliability, key features, and shopping strategies. If you would like to get in touch with a major manufacturer, the telephone numbers of more than 300 companies is listed in the Buying Guide. If you want to quickly find out more information about products and services that has been researched and tested by Consumer Reports, you can look in the 8-year index in the back of the Buying Guide. This will give you a topic list with the month and year of the most recent full report that has been published.