There's nothing to stop a new 360 from failing. There was a report on TV the other week, and it proved that if you're playing a game just a small vibration can cause you're disk to be ruined forever (even something like putting a book down on a nearby table). And Microsoft claims it's the users fault, and wont offer any help.
You should not believe EVERYTHING you hear or overhear.
Seriously that is some of the biggest FUD we've had on this forum in quite a while.