I had one that came free with a tractor that I purchased a couple of years ago. The previous owner was very good about cleaning it after each use and the motor didn't hold up very well to the salt. After two seasons use, the motor was very finicky about working and by the time I gave it away, it was useless. The hopper was still in great condition, but the salt got into the motor and destroyed it. A close examination of the design tells me that there is no way to avoid this problem because they are so low priced to start with. Save your money and purchase quality or just spread it by hand if you feel that you can't afford the proper tool for the job. To purchase on of these for $159 is like wasting money in my opinion, not purchasing a lesser tool that will do the job that it is intended for.
I shall digress here for a moment and tell the story about the antique car that I and a few friends found in NH back in the 1960's. It was still in the original packing crate. The original owners son related the story that the car had such a bad reputation for breakdowns, that his father didn't ever assemble it after it arrived because he already knew of the reliability issues and just purchased another car. They were a wealthy family and could afford it. A friend purchased the car and proceeded to assemble it. The first day, something broke. He took the part to the machine shop and a few days later, had a new part and was back to trying to drive the car. Then another part broke and the same thing was repeated. Back to the machine shop and back on the road a few days later. This went on for about 5 or 6 times, when in desperation, one night he said, "I don't know what to do with the car". We all said "Sell it, before something else breaks!". That is what he did. The following week, he placed an ad in the N.Y. Times and the car sold for a lot more than he paid for it. The new buyer came with a trailer and took it away. I am certain that that car was not driven very much, but must have been trailered to car shows quite a lot. Some things are not reliable from day one. This car was one of them and these spreaders aren't very far behind in my opinion.
