Fein's grinders look very nice also, I stay with the Metabo for the service and support they have locally. If you need power jump to a 5" model with a bigger motor. I plan to pickups a WE14-125 Plus, just wish you could get one with the balancer in the US.
If looking at them and wondering which ones are foreign, you can tell by the part number. The German made ones have the watts*100 listed after the letters (W8=800w,WEBPA14=1400w etc), the foreign ones list the wattage entirely (W720,W820,W1080, etc).
I have 3 from harbor freight and 1 dewalt. The dewalt is the best, but for the $10-20 each, the HF ones flat work.
Multiple grinders save A LOT of time when you set them up for different work (flap disc, wire, plastic, standard grinder) and don't have to switch things every time you need something else.
I actually disagree with this. If you have a grinder with a quick change setup like Metabo, and you swap the quick nut for a regular nut you can swap discs in no time, a second or two longer than it would take you to pick up another grinder. Plus you don't have to fondle three grinders and their tangled cords, and you have one nice grinder you can stand to hold onto for a few hours and not worry about it failing.
One thing nobody else has mentioned is consumable life. Not sure if others noticed this or not but when using some of the cheaper grinders they will eat through cutoff wheels much faster for some reason than the nicer ones. When I compared a cordless dewalt to cordless metabo, both with slicer cutoff wheels, cutting through 1.5" bar, the DeWalt ate an extra 3/4" off the wheel for some reason. Maybe its the balance, maybe it was just operator.
Having multiple grinders is nice, if you need them in multiple areas or for multiple people, but I'd take one nice grinder over multiple HF ones. Just me though, theres no right or wrong way. We use ours pretty hard and I hate having to deal with tools failing.
I will never buy an expensive grinder again, the BD from Wally works super, has a lot of power and last a long time, it has some of the same core parts as the yellow ones but lasts a lot longer. Its not the same as the cheap HF. Its one of the best grinders I have ever used. They put different jackets on it and price it at 100$. Have seen them in Menards on sale for 20, bought 3 just in case, havnt used them as the old ones still going. I put one on my bench where its a daily driver, its one of my top tool picks.
I'm guessing by expensive you mean a DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc? Sounds like you've gone through a lot of grinders in a short time, isn't it nicer to have one nice one that lasts? Nice ones still dont hold up to abuse, but we've forgotten about dealing with junk broken grinders around here since switching. Didn't cost that much either. $120 for a W8-115 (translation 8amp 4.5").
Sounds like a great grinder for moderate use, but I know you are not just tinkering on weekends.
My guys seam to beat the hell out of grinders. Milwaukee are the only ones that have held up for us. We have broke Dewalt, HF, Bosch, and Makita's. Use Dewalt on mostly everything else especially cordless. I have about 60 guys using dewalt cordless.
60 guys using cordless grinders? For what?
I got a Metabo cordless free with purchase of 400 slicers last year and its been a great grinder. Power, smooth, lint screens, battery rotates out of the way and made in germany surprisngly. Batteries run long and charge in 30 minutes or less. I do not like Metabos battery setup though, its too fragile and while they brag about how easy it is to remove their battery, its a problem in many situations where you accidentally bump the release and off it comes. Much prefer the two button squeeze like Milwaukee and others have.
We need a "grinder" smilie! LOL!