non-sense mike, if you buy a good brand like panasonic or LG (which supplies allot of professionals) it will last longer than anything made in the past... modern tech quality is much, much higher than it used to in the past (while american branded electronics are much, much worse than they used to, that one is true which due to their lowest bidder wins manufacturing attitude) Update: also energy wise, u don't want to use a freezer that is 40 years old... with the amount of energy that 40 year old freezer uses u can buy a new freezer every single year. they don't make products less good purposefully, 40 years ago a freezer would set u back at least $4000, now it's like $250 and uses 90% less energy.