Never had a problem with it at all. I occasionally clean and lubricate it and it works fine. Before I lost my last gripper, I had 3 seasons with it with no problem. The scale has been very accurate.
I don't know...maybe I've been lucky. But it does the job.
I had one and it is good for the price but definitely not saltwater friendly. I got about 4 months out of it before it rusted up so the scale was unusable but the lipper still worked decent.