Weigh in: Are major appliances built to last nowadays?

A Litchfield couple paid cash to fix their clunker of a dishwasher, but still will have to buy a new one. "My husband and I purchased a dishwasher . . . in June of 2007, installed it July of that year. In August of 2008 the motor 'locked'. Locking means [the motor has failed and] it must be replaced. Our warranty covered parts only, so we had to pay $150.00 in labor. It was installed in September last year. This August it locked again. And parts were no longer covered. Our . . . Certified Repairman advised us to purchase a new dishwasher, as the motors needed in the dishwashers go out quickly (obviously) and they are not warrantied. The total to fix our dishwasher this time would have been $450.00... and who knows when it would need a repair again. [The manufacturer] has since remade the motors but they are not compatible for our unit. "The purchased price for the dishwasher was $699.00 (plus tax). . . . It is now sitting in our garage. It hasn't been thru a cycle since it was 25 months old. And [the company] considers that an 'old unit'." Is faulty workmanship an inevitable product of modern times? How long should major appliances last?