One of my Fein motors burned out a few years ago. I replaced it with a Lighthouse motor and it worked great for another 5 years. When that motor failed I just junked it. I got about 13 years use so I don't feel I got cheated.

I use my shopvacs several hours a day in sanding and cleaning operations. Much more then a hobby shop would ever use. So in a hobby shop the motor would probably last much longer. I tend to burn out shopvacs every 5 years of so.