Bonham- I think we've all been there, to one degree or another and I think
there are several reasons for these 'road bumps':
1. Our expectations are higher with fancier gear;
2. Some of the gear is on the 'cutting edge' and is more prone to failure
than mass produced stuff, whether because it comes from small shops that
don't have the number of units in the field or because it is pushing the limits
of design or implementation.
Frankly, even consumer grade (non-high end box shop type gear) can have
its share of problems. Some of this may have to do with the implementation
of software in gear- just like cars, you get the bugs.
3. I haven't had many outright tube failures lately, but I've certainly had my
share of tube noise problems over the years- this is nothing new, it comes
with the territory.
4. Vinyl pressing is pretty inconsistent too- not sure if it is worse than the
old days (lost art) or if we are just more likely to bitch when we spend 50
bucks or more on some fancy pressing and it's noisy or warped.
Brownsfan: on cars, my wife has had an endless string of BMWs which she
uses as a daily driver and we've had very, very few problems over the
years. (I think we are on our 7th one over the course of about 15 years. We
only keep them for a few years, so we've never run past the warranty
period. BMW has a pretty all inclusive maintenance program for new cars,
and I think the same can be gotten- not sure- if you buy a certified car from
an authorized dealer, used). We managed to avoid the 7 series when it
changed in the early 2000's, i know those had engine issues and lot's of
people hated the iDrive ergonomics, it's mostly been 3 series, with the odd
'M' version, after our 2001 740i got turned in- that was a terrific car and
surprisingly fast and nimble for its relatively low HP and size. Interestingly, I
think now the 7 series has been 'debugged,' the cars are just too big for
me, though I certainly wouldn't mind riding in the back :)
Wife just got a new 335 coupe with stick, that light metallic blue with saddle
leather. Hope we don't have turbo issues, I thought those got sorted after
the first few years. My only real gripe with BMW is run flats- I just hate 'em!
Buy a used, well- sorted Porsche 993 and never look back. It's one of the
only cars I've kept for any length of time and I've been through many more,
far more exotic, faster cars. Life is too short when you are having fun and
too long when you are not.