That Tuesday my basement flooded changed my mind on sump pumps forever

I used to think sump pumps were just an optional extra, something for the paranoid folks on the south side near the river. Then last Tuesday we got that freak rainstorm, about 40mm in two hours, and my old pump that came with the house just gave up halfway through. Water was creeping up the floor drain and I spent 6 hours with a shop vac and a mop, absolutely miserable. My neighbor Ron came over with his backup pump and a generator and we rigged it in 20 minutes, saved the rest of my workshop. That week I dropped $450 on a new battery backup unit and a second pump, and now I actually check the discharge line every month. Has anyone else had a close call that made you go from cheap to prepared, or am I the only one who learned the hard way?