First time the trigger switch went out, shorted, and did some kind of damage to the wire drive motor. Second time, it just quit working, I took it in, and they said it would be 150$ to fix it (something in the amp switch). I picked up the SP-175, they gave me 200 trade on the Handler, and away I went. Still works great, about 4 years later.
I didn't like the way the Hobart welded either. It had a slow start for the wire drive, which was a pain for stitching, and the heat switch was not sensitive enough either.