Thank you all for your replies... I already have several meters... a junk Harbor freight freebie ( quite a few of these actually.. probably 3 or more different models which are usually only used for light car checks, continuity checks, and 5v / 3.3v light electronic checks. ), a Sperry DM-210A which has been my main multimeter for a while now ( not a fan of the 9V and the cheap leads, or the fact that safety leads don't fit all the way in so I have to use bare ones ), the DER DE-5000 true RMS which I use for specific tasks and I am working on modifying to make it quicker to use, easier... also adding in a cap discharging circuit which will either be put inside the housing with metal contacts and / or a place to plug cap leads into to discharge them if I can't make a circuit which can be plugged into the main circuit, or plugged in between because charged caps will apparently blow this unit up and I would love for there to be a circuit I could plug between, or something which would prevent this from happening so I can just check caps without having to worry... ie: building in the cap discharger would simply make discharging caps quicker because I could plug it into one socket, up near the power button or the top right... then check them... and I also have an old analog multimeter too. actually a few of those...
None of my multimeters are over $10 or $20 I don't think.... The DER DE-5000 is about $100ish with all of the accessories ( USB adapter, the carry case, 2x T22 tweezers, 1 modified for GX16, 1 not, 1 box modified for GX16, 2 sets of $20 alligator clips BNC, BNC removed from one in favor of GX16 connector so I can plug in 1 thing... etc.. all of this works quite well except I'll likely be taking someones advice and going with the XLR high quality gold plated audio connectors with lower resistance... etc... much better... either the 4 pin, or the 5 pin with a jumper to ground instead of the GX as the GX connectors aren't really high quality for precise measuring - but they do pass calibration on the unit when some other things I have tried have failed - such as an el-cheapo banana plug tweezer, and other things... )
I may get the $25 Aneng 2008 or whatever it is reviewed by Dave as a replacement to the Sperry because the leads will fit and he had good things to say - and as an el-cheapo just to have for quick things it is good enough... then for serious things, or where more accuracy is needed I'll be looking through all of your recommendations and picking one... This way I have a slightly better el-cheapo instead of the Sperry with more features... in addition I'll get something really nice.
I would love for it to be calibrated, but I'm sure Fluke, etc.. will likely hold the calibration for a while - and for me, right now, it doesn't need to be pinpoint razor-edge accuracy... but close would be nice just because I am meticulous.. From what I've read Fluke does do software based calibration apparently so there may be a way for me to calibrate it later??? If so I'll probably get a set of those calibration kits with the resistors, and all that jazz - or at least a few different values just to check to see how close it is and if it moves over time.
I would love for this meter to last - that being said, I have yet to have a meter blow up on me, or fail.... even the el-cheapos... but then again I never used those for anything other than 12v car stuff and 5v / 3.3v electronics... basic stuff. or for for checking shorts.
A warranty would be really nice - but it isn't a dealbreaker especially because of how well built most of the higher end units are - but then again if something does go wrong and I can't fix it... it would really be nice to just have it taken care of...
I also just ordered 3 separate temperature sensing units ( 1 for soldering irons, and 2 other types of stand-alone units for sensing temps which aren't expensive but for just sensing temp it shouldn't be that pricey to do anyways ) so that being built into the multimeter isn't a requirement anymore, but would be nice just to have another reference point.
I am going to be buying the 8000 series probemasters... likely thge $50 kit with 2 or 3 addon pairs plus the attachment for the 9000 series attachments which can be quickly plugged in / released... or I'll just get the 9000 series attachments and the 8000 series probes... will see...
So I will read through everything that each of you has posted here and check out all of the links you've posted and go through all of that before deciding on a multimeter....
Thank you to each and every one of you for responding, it is a big help to get your feedback on meters that have worked for you, or that you believe will work for me for my use-case... so thank you for taking the time; I will review everything.
Edit:
Probemasters kit:
https://probemaster.com/8000-series-test-lead-master-kits/ is $53.90 but if you add the stuff up individually it is $77.65 so $23.75 saved... unless the pincer hook is red and black together - but the others are all bought individually so I added that up separate and it is almost $8... (* the link is broken...
https://probemaster.com/4956-pincer-hook/ is the correct one and
https://probemaster.com/4956ph-pincer-hook/ only shows BLACK so they need to fix that on their site - will let them know. )
Plus: 8056 Banana Tip Adapter- 8000 Series Test Leads black and red
9156 Alligator Clip 1/4" black and red
9157 Alligator Clip 1" black and red.
I may even decide to just get the base probemaster 8000 series, the bnc adapter, then the attachments in 9000 series and the box... it would be more expensive but then I wouldn't have to worry about screwing things in... although having a firmly screwed clip could be beneficial in certain situations so I may buy that what I have listed, and a few additional things as needed later or before I place the order... so far it is $90 before tax and there should be free shipping with the order amount... but this way I'll have quality leads for a good meter.
I may even buy an extra set of the 8000 series leads so I have 2... Right now I have 48" set for the lead length - 3 feet may be too short so the 4 footer may be better... also the 10 footer doesn't seem to cost any extra but I think that is overkill... especially as it doesn't look like the wire comes apart so I can't just get that, disassemble it and make the wires shorter - or it would be the length to go with because of the free high quality cable...
Any thoughts on this would be nice... will use for everything from cars to electronics, smds, etc.. First major thing I have to work on is my UPS - have to fix that as the charging circuit keeps flipping but the batteries seem fine. monitors are easy to fix - have a few shorting out so that'll be easy. although monitors, good monitors, are around the $80 mark for 1080p so it is coming to a point where it isn't even worth it... it's like just salvage parts and scrap it... or strip it and sell for parts.