I have a medium priced Rowenta and haven't has any ttouble yet. However I don't use it very much. I got a Shark at a garage sale (I heard they were good) andI loved it. I heated fast and was not as heavy as the Rowenta. I must confess the Shark did go out on me but it may be because it gets knocked off the ironing board almost every time I used it. Also I really don't know how old it was when I bought it. I am planning to buy another Shark.