My advice is to never skimp on cost when it comes to recovery equipment. A lot people think that a winch is something they may only use once a year and therefore shouldn't drop good money on one. The problem you can run into with a cheapo product is when you really need it to work, it may not. Things like winches like to be used. It gets the oil moving around to lubricate gears. Your winch should have a catalog of replacement parts. Why spend $300 on a winch that has to be tossed when it stops working, when all you need is a $25 part? Warn and Superwinch are great winches. If you can't afford a new one of those, look at buying a used one. They are easy to service, and parts are readily available for them.