I have had the Hitachi SP18VA for over 2 years. I detail part-time, spring thru fall. I have yet to even have an issue with mine. I sold my Milwaukee when I bought the Hitachi and NEVER looked back. The makita is a solid tool as well, but I love my Hitachi.
There were 2 things I didn't like when I recieved it. (1) You really have to CRANK on the bolts to get the D handle to be tight (not a big deal) and (2) While it was SIGNIFICANTLY quieter than my Milwaukee, there was a bit of a growl to the gearbox on the Hitachi. I opened it up (4 screws, I think) and saw all of the grease was whipped off of the gears and was clinging to the walls of the case. I removed the OEM grease and re-greased it with whatever synthetic grease I had laying around, it was either Mobil 1 grease, Redline Grease or Valvoline Synpower (my 3 favs) I have also re-greased the gearbox at the end of the year, just for preventative maint.
My unit still functions as new; slow start, variable trigger, dial and all.
