I'm not super knowledgeable here, but we just bought a house in June and by August the plunger on the faucet that turns the shower on was broken. The folks who owned the house before us did a complete reno in 2016 so I called Delta Faucet and just told them what was broken. The local plumbing store helped me find a product number, which I gave to the Delta csr, and literally her second question to me was What's your shipping address?' All that to say Delta Faucet truly stands behind their products - a little more upfront but there was no hassle at all when something broke (even though we were definitely not the original purchasers) More on reddit.com

You can. I mean, you could always check if they have a plastic version. I'm not used to a shower valve having plastic male threads. But if you pair brass to plastic just don't over tighten it so you don't stress the plastic out and make sure it's not cross threaded when you start it! More on reddit.com

I'm a professional plumber, and would like to think I have some insight in my last 25 plus years. However there are always people who will disagree, so you can either take what I have to say to heart, or leave it.

To a point spending money does get you a better quality fixture. Number one don't buy from big box stores, stuff is made cheaper, and is not the same as a supplier model. That's why it's cheaper...

Now that being said, there is a point where you are just spending money to spend it, and there is no return of value. I would also caution you to remember that most sales people (even at a supply house if they actually work sales and not counter help) usually make a commission. It's in their best interest to upsell you. There are so many brands and variables that it is damn near impossible for me to point you in the right direction with the information I have. One example is that I would go with any ghroe shower valve over any hansghroe valve. Based on quality, and cost and serviceability of the valves. For the most part I would actually recommend a delta multichoice rough valve and 3-6 function diverter over the ghroe for the same reason. But this all depends on a ton of things, like trim style and finish you are going for, and actual functions of the shower, just to give you a couple examples.

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Hansgrohe

http://www.hansgrohe-usa.com

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