I had an expensive kettle which was a gift. It lasted ten years but then started to leak and finally started tripping the breaker. I replaced it with a $20 plastic kettle which does everything the other one did, except boil faster and quieter. Just doesn't look as cool though.

In reality, expensive kettles are like expensive clothes. They are probably made out of better materials, but the rest is just markup to cover the lower volumes and higher marketing costs. And because people will pay it for a brand name and sleek design.

Which is my point. A basic kettle should not cost much. The $100 kettles are those with temperature controls.

Please read the article. He's talking about temperature-controlled kettles. Yours only shuts off when boiling.