Most of the time you get what you pay for at Harbor Freight. Usually I buy there for "one use" tools. If it does the job once, it has met my expectations, and priced accordingly. Sometimes you find a jewel there, and it performs for several years. I purchased their receiver mounted rear cargo carrier for about $50.00. I couldn't locally buy the metal to make it for that cost. The design looked viable to my seat of the pants engineering department, and I plunked down the money. After 2 months the
paint started rusting through, so I applied a coat of Rustoleum. The rack has performed well and was a good buy.
I went wrong on my other purchase though. I selected their LED tail
light kit to attach to the carrier. The cost was $ 30.00ish as I remember. One of the
lights went intermittent and if I don't figure out why will require replacement. They don't sell just one, so that means buying a set. I checked the power and ground wiring and all OK. When I back off a lens screw the
light turns back on, so you would think the screw is touching the power wire, but I can't see the contact point. It's got gremlins in there, and I'm not happy with that purchase.
I purchased a polishing machine for rubbing out the chalky
paint on my work truck. $29.95 on sale. It actually lasted through the truck job and did the
Scamp twice before going up in a glorious
cloud of smoke! Ahhh, the smell of burning electrics in the morning. I suppose I got my moneys worth, but I didn't realize what I was missing until replacing the machine with a Dewalt. The Harbor Freight grinder sounded like a bag of rocks when running, had a jerky trigger control and flung rubbing compound all over the neighborhood when starting. In contrast the Dewalt starts slow and smooth with very precise trigger control. Everything about the machine shows that it was designed to compete in a highly competitive business. Both machines are made in China, but Dewalt is a name brand that has to be protected to remain in favor with their customers. Harbor Freight doesn't have that same requirement because they sell only on price. Quality doesn't come into play. People know they are buying crap, and keep coming back. We chooses our poison.
Russ