". It's not like you can buy parts from another source."
opening in the market for someone there!
I remember reading an article about motorbike parts once. The cost of the bike if bought in component form and assembled accordingly, was about ten times that if bought brand new from the showroom.
Servicing is the same. Look at what you pay for servicing for a brand new BMW. THen, if it is over four years old, they will knock you a third off the labour rates with their "four plus" scheme.
Getting ripped off is just part of the deal. In the case of the Robbo, I would have thought it has more than paid off its development costs by now.
The other thing is, that cheaper components provide some incentive to change them earlier, rather than taking them to end of life.