Originally Posted By: BTLew81
You do want a D/A, but you want a decent one. Honestly, for the price, the Harbor Freight D/A is not bad at all. Get a new backing plate if you can and get some pads. If you are looking to save money, this is the best bet.
I have a Griot's DA. Lifetime warranty. I use it a lot and it's been perfect for the last two and a half years. Plenty powerful for the average Joe, and even for me. I do some cars for money and find it to be more than enough 97% of the time.
As a happy owner of a high-dollar Flex--get the Harbor Freight one. Don't get the ones in-between.
These aren't precision machines, so they lend themselves to the HF treatment. Sure the housing is a little awkward, but so what? I would expect it would be plenty good enough for the guy trying to take care of a couple of cars at his house.
Why am I down on the in-between machines? Griot and Porter-Cable? Because they aren't cheap enough. Doubling the price of a cheap-jack Chinese machine and offering a lifetime warranty is no bargain in my opinion.
My Flex is simply overkill (they didn't have the HF machines when I was looking). Unless you are a pro, it will outlive you unless you are in your low forties.