I've had two cheapie bread machines (sorry, don't remember the brands) and each of them wore out after about two years. The first one got to the point the loaf wouldn't come out of the pan (warpage?) and the second one quit cooking the bread fully - it was always very moist.
I don't know what the life expectancy of one of these is, but two years seems short to me. Tho granted in the fall and winter I was making at least one loaf a day, usually whole grains. (and does anyone who works full time and has two young children have time to hand make a loaf of bread every day?)

For me, cost efficiency wasn't a factor. We never eat white bread, and avoid the preservatives when possible. Making my own bread meant I could use flours that usually aren't available as bread in stores like amaranth and quinoa. Also, I did a lot of flavored things like Orange cinnamon bread, Prune bread, Lasagna bread and other strangeties. And the timer was nice too. There's nothing quite like waking up and 10 minutes later biting into a hot slice of Raisin/date/walnut/oatmeal bread.