"Avoid Techincs cassette decks".

When I bought my first cassette deck, a Technics RS-TR212, like the little rascal I am, I immediately bragged about it to the friend who introduced me to the world of Hi-Fi. The first response I got was a link to a video by VWestLife, which you can watch under this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V97CINjHwpw

I'd like to address a few of the claims made in that video and, hopefully, restore some of the good reputation that Technics cassette decks deserve.

The deck reviewed in the video is a Technics RS-TR180. One of the main reasons given for why it supposedly isn't worth repairing is that the mechanism has to be desoldered just to access the drive belts (timestamp 5:59). While this is true for some Technics models, it certainly isn't true for the majority of them. Based on my research, only around 15 out of 180–200 unique Technics cassette deck models require this. That's less than 10%.
Using one of the least repair-friendly models as an example and then titling the video as if it represents Technics decks as a whole is misleading. It's like picking one rotten apple out of an entire garden and claiming that every apple there is bad.

Another complaint appears at 6:41, where the deteriorating plastic parts are criticized. But realistically, what should anyone expect from a cassette deck that was already around 27 years old when the video was made and one that came from a Goodwill, with an entirely unknown service history? There's no way of knowing how it was treated, whether it was ever cleaned, lubricated, or repaired, or if it spent its 27 years sitting in some crusty ass garage. No piece of tech is designed to operate without a problem for almost three decades without at least some repairs. 

Those two points are essentially the entire basis for the argument that you "shouldn't buy" Technics cassette decks. In my opinion, that's a weak conclusion to draw from a single bad model..

Edit: Found another video in which he repairs the same exact deck. And LOOK AT THIS. This is NOT caused by just age, something MUST HAVE HAPPENED TO IT BECAUSE OF THE PREVIOUS OWNER. Things like that do NOT show up with age.