Sony Walkman D-FJ75TR Personal CD Player

I got this Walkman at The Sharper Image years ago. I like it very much, and love that it has a remote clip on that you can use to change CD settings, and get radio stations on. The remote has recently gone haywire, and will not bring in radio stations. I just called Sony, and was told that the remote will cost $99 to replace. This is a crock of crap, since the whole player cost about $125. It makes me wonder what Sony is doing—are they trying to get a lot of dysfunctional CD players so you'll have to rebuy it. The remote is a pretty small part of the player, so it makes sense to me to keep a supply of them on hand, and that way keep this product from becoming obsolete fast.