But what if it's not just normal erosion? Could be something else, like a small quake we didn't feel or the ground water shifting. Seen that happen before.

Man, I feel that. I dropped a similar amount on one a while back and the first cheap bits I bought just turned into expensive chalk. It's like the steel knows you're trying to save money and laughs at you. I've had decent luck with the Milwaukee carbide bits if you can keep the feed light and flood it with oil.

Ugh, tell me about it. Had that happen on an old truck's radio module. Traced a drain for hours. It was wired straight to the battery with no fuse in sight. Makes you want to pull your hair out. Those hidden power lines are the worst.

Wait, was it a software update that bricked it? I heard that's been happening a lot lately.