I went with an expensive XPS (their "carbon skin model") with the top config 3 years ago. The touch screen failed in less than a year, the battery become useless in 2 years and I am now in my second charger which is failing. The unit feels tired/old though the performance on what matters (cpu/memory/nvme) is still solid so far. I guess anything not made by Dell is holding on.
That's frustrating. I wonder if it changes anything if you had purchased extended Dell care back then. I just checked online that their 4 year basic care costs about 270 CAD so I might go for it if I buy a new one. Did you speak to Dell about this? I'd argue my case even if I had not purchased Dell Care.
But still, failing in a couple of years is really unacceptable. I was thinking 5 years for the battery and another 5 years for everything else. If you and me have to spend some $2,000 every 3-4 years it sounds more like a subscription service.
The other issue is that price point does not guarantee quality for any non-Apple boxes.