To your actual question: boards are not what fails first, bearings are. What changed is that the outer drum is now welded or glued shut on most domestic machines, so replacing a 30 bearing means buying a 300 drum assembly, at which point the machine is written off. That is the design decision that ended the twenty year washing machine, not electronics.
If you want the long lived option, look for machines with a serviceable, bolted drum, or look at the light commercial range that laundrettes buy. They cost roughly double and they are built to be opened.