Is the expensive version actually cheaper?

“But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years.”

Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms

Sam Vimes can afford ten-dollar boots, but not the fifty-dollar pair. After ten years he has spent a hundred dollars and still has wet feet. The person who could afford good boots has spent less. Vimes’s boots theory

Vimes’s good boots last long enough to cost less overall. Whether an expensive purchase will do the same depends on its lifespan, running costs and repair bills.

Clothing durability tests

In University of Leeds laboratory tests, a men’s T-shirt costing less than £5 came second out of 17, ahead of one costing ten times as much. Women’s jeans costing about £15 performed much like pairs costing more than ten times that. Across the clothes tested, price did not reliably predict durability.

The researchers washed garments repeatedly and tested properties including seam strength, resistance to abrasion and colour fastness. These were laboratory results, not a count of years in somebody’s wardrobe. The work was commissioned by Primark and the environmental charity Hubbub; it does not establish that every cheap garment is well made. The Leeds study

A pair of jeans costing ten times as much would need ten times the wear to match the purchase cost per wear. The Leeds results give no support for that expectation.

What the printer costs with ink included

With printers, the recurring cost of ink can be larger than the purchase price. Epson’s XP-3200 costs £54.99; its refillable EcoTank ET-2927 costs £199.99. Both print, scan and copy. The extra £145 buys a supply of bottled ink, while the cheaper printer offers a subscription charged by pages printed.

An ink subscription can also make the cheaper printer inexpensive to run. With the XP-3200’s advertised offer, a new subscriber gets the first six months free on plans up to 100 pages a month. The following totals include the printer and ink for three years, using the same number of pages each month.

The EcoTank includes a stated yield of 3,600 black pages and 6,500 colour pages. The largest row requires 3,600 pages over three years. Actual ink use varies with what you print and with maintenance, so a top-up could reduce the saving. The subscription requires an internet connection and charges extra if you exceed the allowance.

At 15 pages a month, spending almost four times as much on the printer does not pay over these three years. At 100 pages a month, the ink savings recover the premium during month 29. After three years, though, the advantage is only about £50. Additional finance charges, ink or repair costs of that amount would remove it. Neither printer has been credited with a longer life or a resale value. XP-3200; ET-2927; subscription terms

Washing-machine lifespans

In Test Achats’ 2026 European survey, previously owned Miele washing machines had lasted an average of 15 years and nine months, against ten years and four months for Indesit. That is about 52% longer, rather than twice as long.

Owners were reporting on machines they had already replaced, sometimes voluntarily: 78% of replacements followed technical problems. Repair bills were not included in the lifespan figures, and current models may perform differently. On purchase price alone, lasting 52% longer would match the cost per year at a 52% premium. Paying twice as much would require further savings from running or repair costs. Test Achats survey and method

Repairs and replacements over twelve years

Suppose a £400 washing machine lasts four years, while an £800 machine lasts twelve. Over twelve years, three purchases of the cheaper machine cost £1,200. The more expensive machine starts with a £400 advantage, but repairs can consume it.

Two £150 repairs take its cost to £1,100, leaving it £100 ahead. A third takes it to £1,250: £50 more than the three cheaper machines. A longer life does not by itself tell you which costs less.

Those prices, lifespans and repair counts are an illustration, not a forecast for either brand. The comparison assumes equal running costs, no borrowing or discounting, and no value left in either machine at the end. Paid repairs to the cheaper machines would increase their total too. A guarantee covering both parts and labour limits those bills for the faults it covers.

A long guarantee may apply to only one component. Bosch advertises five years of parts-and-labour cover against manufacturing or material faults on selected appliances, with registration within three months. Its ten-year motor guarantee does not cover faults elsewhere in the washing machine. Bosch’s coverage and exclusions

Fixed-price repairs also have exclusions. Miele’s £299 fixed-price laundry repair excludes the washing-machine drum, bearings and associated components. Drum and bearing problems accounted for 12% of faults reported in Which?’s 2025 washing-machine survey. That is 12% of faults, not 12% of all machines. Miele repair terms; Which? fault survey

The printer comparison requires either about £200 upfront or £55 followed by monthly ink payments. Interest on borrowing may consume the saving. Even without interest, the higher upfront price may be unaffordable once rent and other essentials are covered. The household buying the affordable version may be paying more over time because the cheaper long-term option is out of reach.