The subject of the touch and sew comes up regularly, and it's very much the same arguments each time. I know Singer were unlucky with a productions of plastic gears over the years, some have crumbled up due to age, others have worn down unreasonably fast. I'm leaning towards giving them a chance and hoping the replacment parts are the good quality. Plastic (polyester) come in various ranges of high density to low density polymers; the best is very durable and will stand up to time and oil. I'm not an expert at all, but we certainly notice the difference when it disintergrate.