Irons do not last very long for me. I have had many Rowentas from Germany and more recently China. I tried a Black in Decker and it was no good. If an iron lasts 2 years I feel lucky. I did not know you could get an iron fixed although it doesn't sound too promising from your comments. While the Rowenta works it is ideal for sewing and pressing clothing. Maybe that is why I keep buying that brand. I got the idea on this site to buy an antique iron at a garage sale. It is a Singer portable maybe from the 50's. It is bright silver with a wood handle. I thought I would display it on a shelf but used it one day. Wow! It gets super hot(wool setting is hotter than modern day iron's cotton.) It has no steam function. I use it to press blocks of fabric with light spray starch. The iron was 50 cents. I love it.