If you take care of them and properly follow the installation instructions, there's no reason for them not to last 5 years plus. I've owned over a dozen of them (currently at nine). I have had the occasional wetside replacement required earlier than 5 years, and then some longer, but the average has been around five. I did flood a controller one time - that's bad, by the way - but otherwise none of the dry components have yet given me any trouble (including my oldest pair at about 7 years). Nothing beats Tunze for bulletproof reliability, but they're comparably priced - and there are reasons to prefer the vortech for me.
You do need to occasionally inspect the vortech wetside magnets for deterioration. A few years back there were some issues with swelling/cracking magnets (thus the good recommendation to not use vinegar on them) but that seems to have passed.
I've used a few of the cheap Chinese pumps in the past. Absent my own issues with longevity with those pumps, the controllability with the vortech is so much better, easier and elegant (either with reeflink or apex). Well worth the premium to me.
