I must warn you about something (maybe it's too late for that ) : there is some kind of default with the L & R buttons (which also happens with the DSi, seems like Nintendo never corrected that one). Most of the time, they won't work after a certain time. But it can be easily repaired. I don't know how to do that but I gave mine to a specialist who repaired it for 15 bucks.
Ive had my DS Lite since launch day and it still works just fine. I can understand kids breaking them, but as mentioned before - not an adult. They dont have "a design fault", they just dont need to be treated rough and they last fine.
I've bought 2 DS Lites and 1 DSi, only one of the DS Lites is "faultless". But you must be right, I've bought them used and I guess they haven't been really well treated by their former owners. I was saying that because paul.strickler1 bought his used too, so he can face the same problem if he's as unlucky as me
RE the DSi shoulder button issue, this is a really easy fix. You need to disassemble the rear of the unit to access the shoulder button switches and dip them in some isopropyl alcohol. Let it dry, reassemble and it should work for years. It's a good way to get a cheap console as they don't need parts or knowledge to fix. Another easy one is the mic fault, you can fix this by repositioning the two long audio in pins in the headphone/mic combi jack - basically the system thinks an external mic has been inserted so disables the internal one. Don't even need to loosen a single screw to fix that!
I had it happen to a Zelda edition gold lite that my Father only used to play Tetris on essentially. And it seems to happen on every model except the iXL and the Phat based on what i've seen reported.
I tend to always go for my DSi XL. It just looks cooler and the screen is better. Good battery life and nice loud speaker too.
Admittedly, all it takes is a mistake (picking it up by the screen, stuff like that) the wrong way and it could cause damage. But completely used as intended - I don't see much risk to breaking them. I used to buy faulty ones and refurb them, with the way the hinge works - the only real way to break them is bend them back too far (or drop it!). I wouldn't necessarily call it a design fault (use as intended = ok) but maybe a poor design choice in that it can't hold up to rough handling? Guess it's just arguing semantics of what you'd call it, you could say it's mostly aimed at kids and that it's inevitable = therefore flaw in its design for the target market.
they click into place, but doesnt take too much pressure to move them past the "locked" position. This is where you get the trouble if you pick it up by the screen etc.
Loved my DS Lite but the shoulder button broke. Lasted a while, I think it broke after like 5 or 6 years.
