I had stern give me support and send me parts for my xmle 5 years after I bought it. I think stern stands behind their products, but this sounds like something a lawyer would have written up to protect stern. At the end of the day it's a pinball machine and stuff breaks. If it's normal wear and tear I could see stern saying that's how these work. If it's a design issue they should take care of it and in my experience they have.