My comment is in the context of someone who said they're 5 years into their plan of buying MacBooks instead of cheap Chromebooks and they're still happy with their decision. If they had said reality panned out as you suggest, then yeah, my comment would make less sense.

But then again, in theory, the more damage the laptops are going to suffer, the more you'll save over time if they're easily repairable

Also, you're right that $4k for a framework is ludicrous. I was thinking more like $1500. But idk what MacBooks OP purchased.