You need to pay more to get the better saws with ball bearings instead of bushings in the motor and arbor. Do you have a neighborhood hardware store with knowledgeable staff? I know they are scarce. Home Hardware has always treated me well.

I like my PC with left side motor. ~8 years and a little more use than yours per year. It is no where near to having any problems.

Quality can pay over time.

Makita and Dewalt make good saws. I have a Dewalt and love it. Been using it for over 6 years and no problems what so ever. I used it to help my brother build a deck and I've used it to to build my shed. However, my friend has a Makita and swears by Makita. I didn't care for the feel of the Makita so I choose the Dewalt. Take a trip to the homedepot or sears and hold the saws. A $150 will get you a pretty good saw no matter what brand you choose, but you should get the one you feel most comfortable with. I would stay away from B&D, Ryobi etc and the lower end stuff with bushings instead of bearings and no blade brakes.

How do you know if there are bearings in place of bushings without dismantling it?
I was debating finding a bearing the correct size and punching out the bushing and replacing it with the bearing. It's probably more effort than it's worth. Did I mention the grease looked more like valve grinding paste from the wear from the bushing, this excellerated the wear. As I said, the saw has no milage. POS.

I have no problem recommending Sears Craftsman products. My circular saw is 22 years old and I've only replaced the blades.

This saw has built 6 decks and cut framing for the remodeling of two houses. It's now working on its third house. The next big project is repairing and then siding the horse barn.

IMHO Black and Decker tools are not worth the money.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

You will be pressed to find that durability in Sears power tools today. The mass retailer stuff is built on price.

Some Black and Decker stuff is good. Their blower/vac is pretty powerful and their hedge trimmers are nice too.

I have a Makita circular saw and have been very happy with it but it is about 15 years old and not sure if the new ones are as good. Hitachi used to be great too when they were all made in Japan, but even they seem to be cheapening their lineup.

You'll be very well served by models from Porter Cable, Milwaukee, DeWalt, or Bosch. Being right-handed, I prefer blade-left saws, which I believe only PC and Milwaukee make. Unfortunately, I think only PC has the foresight to make a blade-left saw with a brake. Fortunately, it fits your price range PERFECTLY:

Here is a link that might be useful: Porter Cable 424MAG 15 Amp 7-1/4-Inch Circular Saw with Blade Left and Brake

I still own an old Craftsman electric drill from the 1960's that belonged to my late father that he bought new and used for 20 years, I have used it for another 20, and it still works fine though it is a bit noisy now. The case is solid aluminum. I will probably pass it on to my children.

I have a Craftsman sabre saw like that. It is all metal, heavy as heck, but my dad gave it to me in the early 70's. I seldom use it, maybe my sister's grandson will want it.

owners manual should say ball bearing or ball and sleeve bearings. I have an old craftsman all metal circular saw I got new about 36 years ago and has seen steady usage and still going strong. It is heavy though. I also have a makita which was used by a contractor. He was throwing it out because the level adjustment wasn't holding anymore. Took 5 minutes to fix and my son and I use it all of the time in our handyman business. It's great acurate and not too heavy. I'd definitely buy one if I had the need for another

My B&D 7-1/4" circ saw just lost the spring for the guard return. I was on here trying to get a clue ... it's so old, that the numbers are no longer there. I'll find a spring for it.

But, the difference is: This saw is probably 50 years old, is totally aluminum, including the base plate. It has probably framed 50 homes (maybe more), built I don't know how many decks and miscellaneous other things. (I didn't do ALL of this, it was my father's) It has had a couple of switches and probably some brushes in the motor.

A friend of mine was helping me remodel the house this winter, using his Milwaukee. I thought it was him doing a sloppy job on his cuts, but when I grabbed his saw, I had the same problem. The old B&D just does a better job, probably because it weighs a ton.

So, they weren't always junk.
My advice, if you need a new saw, buy an old one.