# Things that are designed to be easy to repair
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 17, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537 "2015-09-17T05:04:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/1 "2015-09-17T05:04:15Z")
This is the opposite of my previous thread.
What items have you found to be very simple to repair?
I’ll start - Oreck vacuums. Swapping out a new switch, motor or other parts is simple with basic spade connectors. No soldered parts.
F150 pickups. Much simpler to change oil than other vehicles or do other work on.
Toilets. Most home toilets the entire flaot assembly pretty much is screw out the old one, screw in a new one and they cost around $25.
Sinks - I find MOEN to be expensive but easy to repair.
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### Author:  [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/2 "2015-09-17T05:31:47Z")
Burned out lightbulbs in lamps.
VW Bug.
Glock.
Skateboard. Especially using the new-school bearings with built-in spacers and speed rings.
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### Author:  [@brovolone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brovolone)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/3 "2015-09-17T06:09:13Z")
Leather that’s been scratched up by cats–
Hairclippers to shave the fuzzies, and leather lotion smeared on and rubbed in with a dish towel afterwards.
Edit: misread the title. Shit-o.
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/4 "2015-09-17T06:35:10Z")
Most “enterprise-grade” equipment is easy to work on. Stuff like desktop PCs that pop open like a book and let you swap out drives, power supply, etc. and printers built so you can replace rollers and fusers in the office without a mechanic’s toolbox.
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### Author:  [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/5 "2015-09-17T09:55:52Z")
Bicycle maintenance is mostly surprisingly straightforward. Many of the jobs people would give to their local bike shop can be done easily at home.
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### Author:  [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/6 "2015-09-17T10:30:31Z")
> [@ticker](#):
>
> Bicycle maintenance is mostly surprisingly straightforward. Many of the jobs people would give to their local bike shop can be done easily at home.
I dont know. I’ve found working on gears to be pretty tricky.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/7 "2015-09-17T11:04:39Z")
GFCI receptacles don’t last long. (My theory is that it’s primarily due to voltage spikes from nearby lightning strikes.) They are very easy to replace; if you’re the least bit handy, there’s no need to call an electrician.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/8 "2015-09-17T11:26:52Z")
Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster electric guitars. Designed for manufacturability and straightforward to work on. Heck, I have put together a couple of Tele’s myself, so they can’t be that tough! 😉
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/9 "2015-09-17T11:56:04Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> GFCI receptacles don’t last long. (My theory is that it’s primarily due to voltage spikes from nearby lightning strikes.) They are very easy to replace; if you’re the least bit handy, there’s no need to call an electrician.
Yep. I once replaced heat tape on a barn waterline. I had to dig down pretty deep in a tight area. The job sucked. When I plugged the new tape in it didn’t work, and I realized the outlet was bad; a five minute job.
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### Author:  [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/10 "2015-09-17T12:12:51Z")
> [@ticker](#):
>
> Bicycle maintenance is mostly surprisingly straightforward. Many of the jobs people would give to their local bike shop can be done easily at home.
Agreed - simple to work on your bikes at home, not had any of mine in the shop for years. Some suspension stuff, on the mountain bike side, needs a specialist service once in a while but that’s it.
You do need quite a few tools, though. It’s not a very standardised industry with respect to headsets, bottom brackets etc.
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### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/11 "2015-09-17T12:15:28Z")
AR-15 type rifles. Parts don’t require fitting and no specialized tools are required. The only step that is even a little ticklish is attaching the barrel to the upper receiver properly and all that requires is that you pay attention to what you are doing and not try to be Burly Bear. Over torquing the barrel is the most common error.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/12 "2015-09-17T14:25:11Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#):
>
> I’ll start - Oreck vacuums. Swapping out a new switch, motor or other parts is simple with basic spade connectors. No soldered parts.
>
> .
Dyson vacuums as well. Usually a simple lever or slider to remove and replace parts. And best part: They send you parts for free long after warranty is over. I had a 10-year old Dyson and the rubbery retractable hose got a split in it. It wasn’t one of the replacement parts listed on their site you can purchase so I emailed and then sent one gratis. 😃
Someone else mentioned enterprise grade computers. Tool-less cases are great (thanks Dell). Apple does not fall into this category. You have to buy specials tools for each model and stock up on things like suction cups, plastic crow-bars and pentalobe screwdrivers. Good luck getting everything back together and not having any parts left over!
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### Author:  [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/13 "2015-09-17T18:06:06Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#):
>
> I dont know. I’ve found working on gears to be pretty tricky.
Adjusting gears is just a case of knowing which bit to twiddle in which direction. Once you know that it really is very easy indeed. Youtube is a fantastic resource for this.
Replacing a rear cassette or removing the front chainrings/cranks takes a couple of specialist tools, but they pay for themselves with one missed trip to the bike shop. It is actually so quick to do that I regularly remove mine for cleaning rather than mess about with fiddly brushes.
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### Author:  [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/14 "2015-09-17T18:12:09Z")
Chainsaws is another one. They are designed to be maintained in the field. A few years ago I took a basic chainsaw qualification - pretty much a requirement in the UK if you need any third-party liability insurance. As part of the exam you have to strip down and reassemble your saw which is not hard.
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### Author:  [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/15 "2015-09-17T18:25:19Z")
> [@ticker](#):
>
> Adjusting gears is just a case of knowing which bit to twiddle in which direction. Once you know that it really is very easy indeed. Youtube is a fantastic resource for this.
Easy, provided that the derailleur hanger is aligned. If it is bent, then adjusting the gear shifting is an exercise in frustration.
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### Author:  [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/16 "2015-09-17T19:03:38Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#):
>
> Easy, provided that the derailleur hanger is aligned. If it is bent, then adjusting the gear shifting is an exercise in frustration.
The thing with bicycles is to me, just your shop setup. You need a bike holder then the specialty tools. Once you have that it isnt bad.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/17 "2015-09-17T19:08:53Z")
Laptops aren’t too easy to get in to to replace guts-guts, but stuff like the hard drive, RAM modules, battery and disc drive all just pop right out. I never worked on one until this year (they always intimidated me! I can do desktops with ease…) so I’m not sure how they used to be…but upgrading laptops now is pretty easy.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/18 "2015-09-17T19:42:05Z")
Older cars used to be easy to work on; modern cars quite difficult. Things like changing a starter or fuel pump used to be easy to do; now I wouldn’t dream of doing either.
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### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/19 "2015-09-17T21:16:14Z")
Changing out a flat tire with the spare. Just have to remember to loosen the lug nuts before jacking up the car.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-designed-to-be-easy-to-repair/731537/20 "2015-09-17T21:57:42Z")
> [@Hampshire](#):
>
> Changing out a flat tire with the spare. Just have to remember to loosen the lug nuts before jacking up the car.
And park on flat ground. And park on firm ground. And … 🙂