The life of a good tool can span generations. And they should-they usually demand top dollar, but if a tool lasts a few lifetimes, it's an investment toward the future. Great tools are resold, passed down through the generations, and sometimes modified. Women pass down jewelry; men pass down tools as family heirlooms.
Anyone who has ever worked with cheap tools for any amount of time soon realizes that a good tool for a specific job will save countless hours and frustration. I once bought a budget EZ-out to remove a sheared pulley bolt from the hub of my rear wheel. I was able to drill a hole into the grade-8 hardened bolt with an expensive set of cobalt drill bits, hammered the cheap EZ-out into the bolt with the recommended penetration, then started to twist the bolt counterclockwise-and the inexpensive EZ-out snapped like a twig, leaving me with an EZ-out lodged in a grade-8 hardened bolt, threadlocked to an aluminum hub attached to a wheel and tire. There was nothing else I could do to salvage the hub, and I had no tool that could help me through this problem. I had to take the entire assembly to a shop that specializes in that kind of thing and spend $50 to get it fixed-close to what it would have cost to buy a good set of thread-removal tools that might have lasted my entire life and saved me time and money in the long run.
No one ever throws away a quality tool, but I won't throw away a crappy tool, even if I know it will break, because sometimes broken tools can serve other purposes. A specific tool for a specific job is always the best solution, but sometimes there are circumstances that can prevent a person from obtaining the right tool, and a substitution has to be made. That's where cheap tools shine. If they're modified and can only be used for that specific purpose once, it's OK, because the tool was expected to break anyway. For instance, I have a whole drawer of standard screwdrivers. One in particular had been used so many times that it had lost its chrome finish. Instead of throwing it away, I turned it into a pry bar for small parts and to assist in the removal of old fuel hoses (check out how I made this tool on p. 98).
We all start somewhere, and good mechanics aren't born with a top-of-the-line set of tools, but that's OK. Even if you start out with second- or third-rate tools, get the job done however you can so an investment in good tools can be made in the future. When you do replace those less expensive tools, don't throw them away, because they can be modified. Besides, it's always good to have a second set of basic handtools around for a variety of jobs.