I know some companies offer 90-day returns etc, but what item would you think everyone would benefit from if it was an industry standard to have a test drive like new cars?
My nitpick would be microwaves. I have tried picking out what I thought was decent microwaves in the past but it's hard to know exactly how it functions without using it. For instance, my microwave has an express button (30 seconds) or a minute plus button. You can only use one of them, if you've hit the minute button the express button doesn't let you add 30 seconds while it's active and vice versa. Also the beeping, even if you hit the stop button and open the door when it gets to 0 seconds, it still goes through it's "I'm done" beeping which is loud and repetitive making you stop it at 1 second and still having to click cancel which makes noise. So what's your choice?
Refrigerators, dish washers, washer/dryers, any appliance really. But I want the test period to be 90 days, it's a good length to properly use and determine if something is decent or a steaming pile of shit.
Coffee machines. Every one I've gotten for years now ends up leaking water. Tried a load of brands.
Most comments have covered the biggest ones, but I'm going with a toaster. I have bought some really fancy toasters that can't consistently toast a slice or bread or bagel and burn the edges and I've have some non-name junk tier that do great. It really seems like this should be a solved problem at this point, but nope.
Mattresses. Some of the major brands offer a trial period but they also cost a ton of money and are still a hassle dealing with. Memory foam mattresses in a box can be great quality but if you dont like it, no chance youre getting it back in the box. If you brought it home in a car you now have to rent a truck, get some help and its just a bad experience if you want to return the bed.
"My Wife."