Exactly. It's a pejorative term used for department store bikes, which are typically made from sub-standard parts and assembled by a kid using a screwdriver and a crescent wrench. If any component needs replacing, it will cost half the price of the bike to replace; such is the low quality of the original parts. Thus, it's cheaper for the manufacturer to replace the entire bike outright than to pay to have it fixed. You already have experience with that aspect, getting a whole new wheel instead of a spoke replacment. As far as assembly goes, forks get put on backwards, parts are missing, spokes are under-tensioned, bearings are dry and improperly tightened, ... the list goes on and on.