Yes, a lot of appliances break down right after the warranty expires – and they are built that way. In fairness, the prices are not as they were decades ago. If you compute prices as part of income, you will see that US prices for food and stuff are decreasing over time.
In terms of appliances, you will be better off not buying integrated ones. Buy separate dryer and washer – so when one breaks, you only buy one. If your fridge breaks but freezer is still working – buy 1 or 2 small stand-alone fridges and keep the old one for freezer.