Well, FWIW, I have had 3-4 magsafe cords (MBA, MBP, MBPr) and have used them from 5 (MBP) to 3 (MBA) to 1 year (MBPr) without issue.
I've had other parts crap on me though, e.g a battery after 2-3 years of use that had to be replaced. Also had an iMac (sold now), which had a faulty DVD (also replaced).
The thing is, those things happen to ALL production runs, there are some % of defective units. You can be Apple, IBM, Dell or BMW, and you still get this. I've had "upmarket" IBM hard disks die on me for example ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HGST_Deskstar ).
And, for tens of millions of machines sold, you only get to read about the far fewer faulty ones on such problem forums (well, duh!) -- so it's not much to get an accurate picture on.
I like to do extensive research before I buy something (I buy lots of tech gear, from stuff like DSLRs to Audio interfaces), and if I gave much promimence to the occasional forum complaints, I wouldn't have bought anything at all, because there are always people that have issues with any product you search. I prefer to stick to reviews, seeing units in action from friends and in the store, etc. Case in point, my latest buy, a Focusrite Scarlett interface. Pages of complaints about strange audio glitches with Mountain Lion / iMacs etc in audio forums. Have been working 100% fine for me.
I've had other parts crap on me though, e.g a battery after 2-3 years of use that had to be replaced. Also had an iMac (sold now), which had a faulty DVD (also replaced).
The thing is, those things happen to ALL production runs, there are some % of defective units. You can be Apple, IBM, Dell or BMW, and you still get this. I've had "upmarket" IBM hard disks die on me for example ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HGST_Deskstar ).
And, for tens of millions of machines sold, you only get to read about the far fewer faulty ones on such problem forums (well, duh!) -- so it's not much to get an accurate picture on.
I like to do extensive research before I buy something (I buy lots of tech gear, from stuff like DSLRs to Audio interfaces), and if I gave much promimence to the occasional forum complaints, I wouldn't have bought anything at all, because there are always people that have issues with any product you search. I prefer to stick to reviews, seeing units in action from friends and in the store, etc. Case in point, my latest buy, a Focusrite Scarlett interface. Pages of complaints about strange audio glitches with Mountain Lion / iMacs etc in audio forums. Have been working 100% fine for me.