I understand what you mean about when the price isnt really justified, but sometimes they are. And im not a professional mechanic either. But have you ever had a cheaper socket or wrench (Harbor freight for example), that just didnt quite fit the nut/bolt quite right? Ive stripped hundreds of bolt heads because of that exact reason...
I bought a snap on 1/2" cordless drill a few years ago. For $240, it came with 2 batteries, a charger and case. And i use the damn thing till it smokes, im hard as hell on it. And snap on has replaced it twice because the motor went out. You know what the dealer tells me? Keep using it.
Now if i'd gone with another brand, im sure i would've gotten the first replacement for free, same as snap-on, but what about the second or third time? We use to have all dewalt 1/2" drills at our shop, a total of 5 of them for all of us to share, and those things lasted just as long as my snap on drill. But no big deal the first time, we warrantied them, no questions asked. Then after a few months, we went to go for a second time, and home depot denied us. Turns out they only have 1 free replacement. So after the second im out buying the tool myself. Which if its a dewalt, is $130 for the tool only!
Im not saying that snap on is better, hell ive smoked my drill twice, ive split Snap-on sockets in half for beating on them with hammers. I'm also not saying that Matco drill bits are better than any other, ive probably warrantied more of them than i can count because again, im hard on them, and they dull. Ive got crescent sockets in my box, ive had them for probably 8 years, and ive only broken one, they cost me $150 for a full 1/2", 3/8", and 1/4" set, metric and standard! Best thing ive bought so far!
Its all about if its worth it, in the long run, which will cost you more, or save you more headaches?