I bought my Technics SL-12oo back in 1978, so I had it a loong time. I have had it repaired once, about 5 years ago, not because it was broken, but I thought it was about time to get it mantained. The mechanic said that it would last much longer than myself. So it shows something about how durable the direct drive system is.
It has otherwise been used a lot. Once I took a 14-day vacation and forgot to turn it off, so it was still running when I got back home again.
The sound I have always loved, so although there may be better turnables out there,, this one sounds terriffic with a good ORTOFON pickup.
So from me it can only be 5 stars all around.