As someone who's owned a lot of cheap but reliable laptops, are those of you with MacBook Pros commonly needing to return to an Apple Store after purchasing for service? In my mind I've been on the verge of giving a MBP a shot a few times because my associates are always going on about how great the hardware and build quality is, but then I read about an issue like this and see what feels like a billion people chiming in about how "yeah mine does that too" and change my mind.
Perhaps this is a case of brand loyalty (e.g. "I'd rather push a Chevy than drive a Ford"). I acknowledge that of course the horror stories will come out in the comments for a thread about a common failure, and that a very popular brand is likely to have more people to comment, positively or negatively. I guess I'm just concerned I'll splurge on a top-end MBP and end up with something less reliable than a $450 Toshiba that refused to die.