28 years ago, I bought a house which had a lawn...moved in in May. The first thing I did was go to Sears and buy a mower. It ran fine, with a few changes of sparkplugs, for 24 years, until it needed a $125 carburetor kit (including installation). By this time the new mowers had the larger rear wheels and more powerful engine, so I decided to invest the $125 in a new model.
....*sigh*...The FIRST time I ran it, the spring-loaded wheel adjustment levers on the front wheel slipped out of notches..(weaker, thinner steel)... and knocked off & chewed up one of the plastic coverings. This slipping continued until I used a bungee cord hooked between them to hold them tighter...which meant they only slipped every 4-5 uses. (I have tree roots which make bumpy mowing, which is why I bought the newer model with larger wheels).
I continued for another year...then it refused to start in the Spring...(had never been a problem with old model), so I sent it in for repairs *note*: 'send'...there used to be an on site repair shop AT the store, and it was possible to talk to the repair guy...now all mowers were sent to central shop in obscure location in Baltimore! When I was notified of the needed repairs, it included **replacing the weak wheel adjusters!**. I said "No! Those were faulty design!" THEY said "It's our policy to inspect all mowers and not to send out any repairs not up to standards." I said, "then don't charge ME"...they said "you've had it for 2½ years...no more warranty"...etc.
   Back & forth we went for maybe 15 minutes until the shop manager just happened to go by and the harried phone guy put him on. I went thru it all again until the manager said HE would make an exception (to shut me up, I guess)...and they sent it back without the $35 replaced adjusters. Fine...right? Last Spring..(after about 4-5 uses that last Fall, the starter cord went "chunk" and refused to wind. When I took the outer shroud off, there were 2 identical major bolts missing from the front of the housing! I called them...."All repairs would entail a charge, and there was no proof it was their fault".
   I borrowed a mower to finish the season, and as I explained to Sears...IF I get this mower repaired, it will be from a trusted mower expert I know of and Sears will get NO more $$$$ from me to fix THEIR flawed mowers and careless repairs.

You wanna hear about the water filter which, after 10 years of use, changed models to a more complex setup at almost double the price and locked up so the water wouldn't go thru?