Freebird, Don't feel alone we are having same problem over here. It is consumer driven. They buy it and then complain like heck because either can't be repaired or it cost more then paid for it when we add even a hour worth labor even I personally have spent a half day it them to run.
As long as the consumer keeps buying it only going to get worse. Wake up consuming public they are ripping you off; it not us the repair techs/shops fault the bills are so high.
It is like when I was in the office equipment business as a tech. We were a cheap lowend calculator for $100, our labor was $35 per hour plus parts. Well if the calculator needed a new printer, the manufacture wanted $300 for it. We end up buying new machines just for the purpose of parting out. We pay $50 for the unit as a dealer. Just didn't make much back then but does now. I brought a new mower last year with blown engine just to get a SP drive unit for a new customer cheaper that way then buying the part from the distributor and I have the other parts to sell now. The col itself itself sells for $40 so that $40 investment is well worth to me as made more than it cost for the broken mower.
