Great initially, but progressively declined - now unuseable

Had this for a couple of years and used it about 10 times for around 20 minutes each time on quite light duty. At first it started fine and ran well. Good cutting aggression. Recently it's started to 'play up' - still fires up, but dies as soon as blades make contact with hedges. Parts like carburettor and seals/gaskets look to be unobtainable; so another £70 of chinese junk into the dumpster. We never learn that it's better to pay a bit more for quality and durability rather than a cheapo piece of junk that doesn't even last even till the gloss is off it.
Looking for a second hand Stihl now.