It appears we have very different definitions of total loss. For me there are two types of total loss. If an object breaks to the point where it becomes unusable for its initial and main purpose then to me that constitutes a total loss. I buy a laptop because I need a device to work with when I am not at my desk. If its keyboard, display or any other crucial component fails and renders it unusable without additional peripherals, such as an external monitor or display, and fixing it is more expensive than the device itself is worth then that constitutes a total financial loss by my definition. But again, maybe that's just me. Maybe it's because I already went through five keyboard replacements on two different Apple laptops with two different generations of the Butterfly keyboard in the past two years. Maybe it's because the first three replacements occured before Apple acknowledged this design flaw and initiated the repair program, and I had to fight and argue with various Apple "geniuses" both in person and over the phone before they grudgingly agreed to replace the keyboard.
Anyway, I don't think we will ever agree on this. If y'all are fine with your ticking time bombs that will require an excessive amount of money to get repaired four years down the road then fine, I accept that. If y'all are fine with hooking up external keyboards to your laptops while out and about then by all means, be my guest. I, on the other hand, am not fine with that and will continue to warn others about this inherent design flaw and the effective expiration date on these laptops. Even Apple realized that and abandoned the Butterfly mechanism in favor of a tried and true scissor switch mechanism on their latest MacBook Pro. If that 2019 Butterfly iteration would have "largely solved" the issues, as some seem to think, then why bother backpedalling to an older design?
Because it's broken beyond repair, that's why.
PS: regarding the turn signal in my car: I would be able to drive it one year tops, then I'll have to go through state inspection here in Texas which I will fail due to that failed turn signal. Which in turn means I would legally not be allowed to drive that car on public roads anymore. And if fixing that turn signal means swapping out the entire front of the car, including the engine bay, the hood, both fenders, the windscreen, and the front axle - which would be the automotive equivalent of having to replace the entire topcase including battery, touchpad, and speakers for a single failed key - then that car would by all means be considered a total financial loss because of a broken turn signal. Just sayin'
