I have a top of the line Zenith Stereo VCR from the early to mid 80's. My wife bought it for me new when we were dating for over $500. I used it every day until about 1995 because of the stereo option and I still use it quite often. Here are the problems I've had with the machine and the maintenance and repairs I've done:
I spose I should clean it some day. This thing is better than a Timex. Probably keep it until I die, I use it now for my older sets. I will follow up with a model number tommorrow.