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A failed 25¢ part cannot be replaced by a new 25¢ part, but by a sub-assembly whose cost is equal to or greater than that of the device needing the part.
The cost and availability of a replacement part are inversely proportional to the price of the whole system: a $1500 device will fail because of the burnout of a 25¢ capacitor. But the 25¢ capacitor is either no longer manufactured, manufactured only by a company in Outer Mongolia with an 18-month backlog, or available only as part of a $1450 sub-assembly.
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This law belongs with Murphy's Technology Laws, where small assumptions, timing, and system complexity tend to turn into memorable failures.
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