I have the Value Leader, 68", and I haven't had the same experience.
The fit and finish reminds me of something you'd buy at Harbor Freight. Runs in the powder coat, cardboard stuck to a couple pieces from being sprayed sitting on the cardboard, some ugly welds and rough edges, etc.
The paint on mine is fine. I suspect with Chinese imports the importer is shopping at several different manufacturers so the quality isn't consistent.
The collars on the ends of the PTO shaft were incredibly brittle plastic. So those disintegrated as soon as I ran it. The PTO shaft it comes with is incredibly heavy/awkward.
Not my experience
It comes with pins for the 3PH and the lynch pins that it comes with are garbage. They just fall out. I bought a bag from TSC and replaced them for a couple bucks.
I did have this problem. Even the replacement pins fall out all the time. I don't know why. Now I just keep a bag of zip ties in the shed and tie them in.
Overall, it cuts pretty well. It will cut grass and it looks like lawn. It's not as nice as a good lawn mower but it's passable. It doesn't have updraft like a high quality lawnmower so the cut isn't as good. It will cut tall grass that a rotary lawn mower will clog on. However, there is a limit, once the grass gets to be a foot or more it starts to choke and get grass wrapped around the shaft. This is particularly true with grass being cut for the first time this year. A rotary rough mower will handle that grass with no problem, and if I do that first and wait a few days for the cuttings to dry I can follow with the flail and get a nice cut.
It mulches everything down fine, finer than a mulching lawnmower. When the grass is high it creates a thick layer of mulch over the grass, which turns brown and looks unsightly. Eventually it goes away.
I find the height adjustment unwieldy. There are skids on the side that are adjustable in height, I find they just dig up the grass so I put them up all the way and have it ride solely on the rear roller. Adjusting the rear roller is a pain because it involves a lot of bolts and nuts. It's easier just to adjust the height by using the top link to adjust the angle. Since the roller is behind the blade tilting the mower forward lowers the blade and tilting it back raises it. However, the PTO shaft can't stand a lot of angle, if you tilt it too much the shear bolt breaks. There is one spot in one of my fields where there's a dip, and every time I go over it I break a shear bolt.
It can't cut super close, about 3-4" is probably the limit. Any lower and the skids start digging in.
The mower doesn't like to go backwards, the corners tend to catch and dig up the ground. So I raise it if I need to back up. However, I have to remember to disengage the PTO or I'll break the shear bolt.
It is somewhat fragile. I broke a bearing in the rear roller when I rode over a stump that was hidden in tall grass. I often break blades when I run over rocks. A rough mower would handle these with no problem. I haven't had any trouble getting repair parts.
I don't really use it on brush, but that mainly because I have a lot of rocks and anywhere there's brush there's bound to be rocks. It actually seems to do better on leafy stuff than grass.
Overall I'd probably rate it 3 out of 5 stars. A lot of little annoyances but it does what it's meant to do, I've cut a lot of grass with mine. With 68 inches you can cut a lot of grass in a little time. I have a lot of hayfields and I like to cut walking trails in them, it's great for that. It certainly isn't a "universal mower." I also have a rider mower, rough mower, hay mower, push mower and a couple of weed whackers. Each has its use, none of them do everything.
