First, I am not anti-CCR. I have a couple that I've had for several years. Fortunately, I've never had trouble but I don't use them much. Of course, I didn't pay much for them but I went into it assuming they probably would not work like the "Big 3," as people like to call them.
What I normally use is either my Yaesu VX-1 or VX-6. They both worked perfectly right out of the box.
What I'm saying is, you pretty much get what you pay for and if you pay $25 for a radio and expect it to perform like a $150 radio, you need to re-think your expectations. I've said it before on this forum: CCRs are like Bic lighters. If they quit working, you throw them away because you can't fix them.