In general - there are always occasional exceptions - the 6410 direction pots last for many years. Commonest cause of wrongly indicating North is an intermittent short to ground somewhere in the cabling or connector, eg could be a frayed cable, an intermediate cable joint that is not properly waterproofed or moisture getting into the wind connection. But a fault developing in the wind input circuitry of the SIM board can also happen sometimes.
But I don't disagree that the anemometer, along with other VP2 sensor elements, is best regarded as a consumable item, albeit with a decent working life, say 5 years. That said, many anemometers can last much longer and still function well. My own home station has an anemometer that now must be 10-12 years old and still seems to be functioning fine.
