The grass is greener....

[Brian37]

This is not a matter of price being relative. Corporate America uses cheap manufacturing overseas to make most of what we buy here. I can remember growing up things were made far more durable, and when they did break, you didn't have to fight with company over using your warranty. These companies will use third party sub contractors to "fix" things. In reality that creates a legal loophole to get you to fight between company and the sub contractor and a separate warranty company. I had the same fucking problem with the mobility van I used for my mom. The ramp was installed after factory but we bought it from a dealership and when we had computer chip problems with it, the dealer and the ramp maker would point to the other. The same can be said for health insurance. Deregulation allows giant corporations to maximize profits and minimize costs. So in the case of this tiny broken pin, neither the sub contractor or the company I bought the lawn mower at wont spend the money on parts or labor because they wont make a dime fixing it.