1) You're wrong about the price with respect to Defender. Defender shows list prices along with their prices. Look for yourself.

2) You condemn them for "someone that makes a profit off of sloppy components".... inability to stand up to lightning is hardly an indication of sloppy componentsts, and 8 years for electronics in a corrosive marine environment with "dirty" fluctuating power and temperature extremes is not so bad either. All bets are off when it comes to lightning, and under the skins all the marine manufacturers are using chips from the same suppliers. The differences are in how they're put together and sealed from the harsh marine environment. Generally they all use the same techniques and materials for that too.

The warranty and repair/support policies are a big difference, and your point is major if a maker goes beyond what the warranty calls for or has an unconditional lifetime warranty. There is a cost to the latter, which might be pretty significant in something like an inverter or course computer, or C-P. Display heads for speed-depth-wind etc. are pretty cheap to make and are very high margin items for the makers in terms of unit-cost of goods (most of the cost is in marketing and support and G&A). Anyway you are entitled to vote with your dollars, and your point on that is well taken.