I'm still very noob, but I made my 1st purchase about a month ago. I went with the flex and couldn't be happier. In fact, I think I might have been a little disappointed in going with the porter cable because I feel like the flex was so efficient at its function. I would have been worn out after doing my car with a machine that many people say will take twice as long as the flex.
I also went the the menzerna IP and final finish (I think?) and couldn't be happier with the results. They were easy to work with the flex.
If I had to do it over again, I think I:
1) would have waited for a very good sale to come along. It seems like every other week there is some kind of special or discount or bundle deal that offers fantastic savings on something you really want or need.
2) would have got more pads. Stopping to clean the pads was a pain. I got one of each color of the regular pads as well as the
kompressor pad bundle on sale. I think I could have been better off with 3 orange, 3 white and either 2 blue or 2 red pads. I didn't even use some of the ones I bought (yellow. green, black).
3) more microfiber. I went through way more towels than I thought I would (about 25). Of course I gave my car "the pleasure" of a full on detail.:buffing: I actually had to stop part of the way through the polishing process to wash some towles. I was also tired though - the noob slowness didn't help either.
I hope this helps :cheers: