Regarding older air conditioners being colder than new ones, a lot of that is due to their using good old R12 (Freon). There's more to it than that, but that's it in a nutshell.

Notice how the A/C in modern cars usually takes a lot longer to get cool and then sometimes they don't get as cold as older ones? Same deal. It's especially pronounced in older cars that have been converted to the Freon replacement R-134......the older systems aren't optimized to run that new flavor refrigerant.

Am being over simplistic here, but you get my drift. As for durability, when I see a Korean made window air conditioner retail for less than $100 I assume it's a throwaway and hope to get at most a couple of years use out of it. Disgusting, but that's the way it is.......another thing, these el-cheapos are no where near as efficient as the pricier units, and I wonder if they're any more efficient as an older one. You might just be better off buying an older repairable unit with similar efficiency rating instead. But then again, they wouldn't come with remote control! :-)

Anthony