I treat all my equipment with the same respect regardless of it's price. I think only well made rods, reels or whatever even offer guarantees. I had a Scott rod that a foot and a half long piece of the tip broke clean. I had used it for years. I don't use weighted flies or add weight to my leader.When I sent it to them they just sent it back along with a blank but the bill they sent me for shipping was $40 or 3 times what it cost me to send it to them. It then cost me another $50 to have it wrapped using the guides and tip top off my old rod....So much for a Scott Warrantee. Orvis on the other hand just gave me a new reel when I brought in one that I had put a small dent in the rim of and just wanted to see if they could straightened out.. It was the result of a fall I took on the Ausable and certainly not that of Orvis or the mfg of the reel. I didn't go in looking for a new reel and was quite surprised. Needless to say who my loyalty goes to.
Of course now I fish cane and the makers all gaurantee their rods for 'their' lifetimes or 'mine', whichever is the shortest. lol.