I'm sure mine wasn't the oldest. It lasted from '93 through the first part of 2019 - far longer than the marriage for which it was gifted to me... The crock was replaced once (dropped), and the heating element eventually died. Replacement runs like a champ.
We're on our 3rd
"fun-sized" crock pot for lunches. The cord design on the first 2 lent itself to the wires fraying where it enters the unit: much like the OP mentioned on his full-sized unit. The most recent one seems to have addressed that with an updated design. Mrs. FC uses this one 1 to 3 times a week to warm up lunch @ work.
FC
