Thanks again, to everyone, for their recommendations.
It's interesting to see the two schools of thought, inexpensive/disposable vs longevity buys. Not a new theory, as many products/companies base their sales on being inexpensive and disposable figuring that it's more attractive to replace vs repair.
Also, found it interesting that some people don't fully service their less expensive models. I wonder if they'd last even longer, if serviced as the high-end brands?
The problem that I've run into is that the expensive things we've bought with longevity in mind don't last like they would have in the past. This would be our preferred route to go, but my $800 Miele vacuum has been a bust and I'll probably buy a much cheaper one next time. It goes totally against my principles to buy something cheap that will end up as landfill sooner but the buy expensive to last philosophy isn't working out like it used to.
My expensive Bosch dishwasher has had twelve service calls. Yes, twelve, and has had almost everything inside and out replaced in three years. Thankfully I bought on sale and put everything I saved towards an extended warranty. It's running well now.
The repair guys said the addition of electronic parts has created some huge problems for consumers, as in people being able to replace dishwashers, washing machines and dryers for the almost same cost as replacing a single electronic part.
When I bought a $1700 fridge the guy asked if I wanted to buy an extended warranty to guarantee an extra 4 years beyond the one year manufacturer's warranty. I was absolutely livid and told him there was no way I was going to spend an extra $140 to keep it running for 5 years when I was replacing a 30+ year old fridge. I wound up being sorry because the ice maker went wonky about a year later and the parts alone are $160.
I was looking forward to replacing my 30+ year old Tappan range because it's not much to look at, but it works well and I'm sticking with it.
And you don't even want to get me started on my mini-van.
We wanted a mini-van that could handle our camper and wound up with a Ford Freestar LE with more features than we normally would have bought. Most of the "extras" have needed repair/replacement in the four years we've had it--board for digital readout $400ish, cruise control (and it's broken again), $650 AC repair, thermostat, some heating system part that went out when it was -10 F last winter, the heated seat on one side has gone out, switches for side mirror and information panel have broken, keyless remote broken, $220 part for power door was replaced--and that's just off the top of my head and doesn't include engine repairs. My husband drives a 22 year old Buick and his comprable list would be one lock that doesn't work, a broken gas guage, a few heating/repairs through the years and I think he said the AC isn't working because it needs recharging. He has to crank the windows up and down and the heating/AC only has a few settings, but he's still alive to tell the tale.
In answer to your original question, we have a professionally installed Smartway Solutions Talking Thermostat V1001 Single Stage. The talking is annoying, but it's held up. I have no idea what brand our lawnmower is but what's helped us out through the years is having a guy down the street that does maintenance and repair as a side job. He's reasonable and honest, plus he works out of his garage and his only advertising is word of mouth so he doesn't have high overhead costs.