Are you sure that it is the hard disk failing on its own and not a faulty disk controller causing the hard disks to eventually fail? I have a vague memory about the early SATA controllers causing these sorts of faults.
I haven't used Maxtor for several years, but the Western Digital & Seagate drives I am using have proven super-reliable (touch wood), including the main external Firewire drives which are being used for professional audio/video - they get extended poundings most days.