As with any brand you get whaqt you pay for, of course a cheap stihl will not have the same build quality of an expensive professional one, and the cheap ones are probably no better than the no name ones sold for a further $100 less, they are relying on a brand to sell things.
I personally only use old equipment, built in an age where they were designed to last and be repaired if need be, not thrown away. Trimmers and blowers - I run a stihl BG72 ex council blower ($90 at auction) that has ample power for sweeping the workshop, paths and gutters and just a cheapy trimmer, trimmers are always found on the roadside, most times with not much wrong if anything.
Mowers, Early Briggs and victa engines but it for me, the newer chinese made ones feel a lot less refined, and noisyer than a well matured unit in good working order. That being said there are some good parts to scavenge off a newer damaged roadside mower.
Anyhow at the end of the day you get what you pay for with quality, you cant buy a chinese copy "yongdongfenchihuahuayumcha" and expect a professional grade honda, Not gonna happen.
