Pretty fan but too many lower price alternatives

I installed four ceiling fans in my house 9 years ago. Two were Hunter Original in the two rooms I knew where they'd get the most use and needed quiet operation. At the time they were about $160 each. I'm sorry I spent the money. Hunter Original fans need to be oiled every year, which is a messy pain to do. They can be noisy once a bearing or part gets out-of-whack...which just happened to the one in my master bedroom. I live in FL and use the fan almost every night - even with the A/C on. (That's the joy of ceiling fans - you can keep the A/C on a higher setting to save energy costs.) My handyman came in to look at the fan and explained it's cheaper to put up a new one than have it repaired. Isn't that just like the rest of today's throwaway consumer society? Yikes!

Two years ago I added a modest Hampton Bay fan to a workroom for about $50 including the lightkit. It's very quiet and works great - so if Planned Obsolescence is the objective of the manufacturer, at least I didn't spend a fortune.

Hunter Fan Co has bought out some other manufacturers - not sure who. Perhaps Hampton Bay fans or Casablanca are owned by Hunter now, but at least you're not paying for the HUNTER name.