LOL IRL... That doesn't sound right; many of my friends on other boards have defended the EU Fiesta/Escort as having price/reliability comparable to Toyota Corolla/Camry. In other words, a cheap car that's good for 10 years even if you abuse it and longer if you take care of it. But thanks for the belly laugh; I needed it.
I'd argue that once Japan got their corrosion problems under control, they proceeded to make some of the most reliable cars in existence. Which Ford never, ever, have managed, starting with the Taunus and Granada, where the order of the day is fill up on engine oil and check the fuel
Granted, the Japanese cars are boring and dull, but reliably so. OTOH, any Chevrolet, which is what Alamo gives you when you rent "mid-range", (my main source of info on US cars) has inherited the "boring and dull" part hook, line and sinker, but sort of missed out on the "reliable", so boring is sortakinda universal unless you pay silly money. Character, in positive terms can be had, if you look around. I like to think of my Volvo having some of it, even if it was conceived during the "Ford owns Volvo Cars" epoch (it's a 2001 V70) and it of course is subtle in "character" compared to, say, anything with a Lucas electrical system. But, they didn't fail on the "reliable". 365000 km and counting.
I would make it a mission to swap the controls around on the offending half of that thing fer damn sherr.
Now, I haven't opened the Uni-T, because since I got a working one (the first one, a christmas gift from Enabler, Mark 1, Mod 3 (the Wife) was a DOA), it's been very reliable. Within 15%.
If those pots are chassis mount and cable-to-pcb, I might follow your idea. Or, I might not be arsed. Time will tell.