deth: What's wrong with them in your experience?
first off, as was said, they just feel cheap. one of the worst parts on cheap meters are the probes. while i would call the ones in the meters suggested (vc99 or uni-t's) "mid range", in that they are a tad bit better than those with the $free-5.00 harbor freight pos meters, but not by much.
now, i will say, i really dont worry about accuracy, as other than those $5 meters, i have never seen a meter that was significantly out enough for it to really matter, nor have i ever saw one to drift significantly over time.
but other than that, longevity is an issue. again, im not one to dwell on 10' drop tests, because i see no reason a well cared for meter should fall from 10', but to see one get knocked over on a bench and have the switch break (uni-t, it was about a $75 range meter, switch cocked and the springs and bearing detents fell out) is not acceptable, imo. just built cheaply. im not liking using that word, its not that they are "inexpensive", but cheap as in, just outright piss poor quality.
again, im not knocking budget meters, i have about 8 dmm's, 2 are used fluke that i got within the last 2 months, the rest are all cheap budget meters. frankly, ive said it before, but i like most of the cheapies better than the flukes. but there are ones that just suck. and, imo, uni-t, vichy, and any of the under $10 pos meters fall into the "suck" category. id really like to try a brymen or 2, but i need another dmm like i need a hole in the head.
in summation: i think a lot of the criticisms of cheap meters is uncalled for. obscene torture tests, .00001% accuracy expectations, and the like arent a concern. but having one that dosent fall apart on the bench, one that the screen dosent brick out when you switch ranges, one that the lcd display dosent crap out so you cant read half the digits, ect, is not too much to ask for a cheap meter.
this is only what ive observed, ymmv.