Any suggestions for a solid, middle of the road saw? Was looking at Hitachi and Bosch at the box stores. Needed to cut new wood trim for the lower level/kitchen. Looking to spend around $3-500

DeWalt

Yep.  Look closely at the DW716.  Solid and precise.

I have a dewalt, but ended up buying a smaller kobalt also.  I use the kobalt all the time and it has held up.  I'm not gentle with it either.  It goes on sale for cheap once in a while.

My DeWalt has served me well. I put a laser sight on it. I also recently added the "portable " stand and that is quite helpful. It allowed me to rearrange my shop.

DeWalt or Bosch.....of the last 5 Hitachi power tools that I have bought, only one, a half inch Electric drill, still works.  I use tools every day, so it is not hard to tell when the quality is just not there.

Love my Makita 10" sliding compound miter saw.

I had a Dewalt713 that had a catastrophic blade failure (Dewalt blade) last month that literally caused major damage to the fence and table.  I am lucky I did not get hurt and after one email with pics to Dewalt, they requested I send them the saw at their cost and offed a DW716XPS as a free replacement.  I took it.  The quality sucks compared to my five year old 713.  The table is much thinner and has been downsized to save money.  The motor looks OK, but the brushes are not going to last long- they went cheap.  As for the plastic, it too is thinner and cheaper.  As for being square, not a chance in hell!  It needed a lot of adjustment!  I am not impressed and it seems the miter saw line is not what it used to be, unlike their table saw line that is getting better and better.

i just got my Feb/March issue of Fine Homebuilding and they did a comparison of 12" non-sliders, specifically the Dewalt, Bosch, Craftsman, Rigid, Makita and Hitachi.  It's worth a read if your box store has it or Barnes & Nobles has it.  It goes over everything, including features, max angles and capacities.  Bosch won for a variety of reasons.  

I think I am going to dump this and go with the Bosch.

For what you describe you can get by with a basic 10"  saw. The advantages to such a saw is lighter weight, smaller footprint (takes up less space in the garage/shop/tool trailer) and 10" blades are cheaper than 12s. The downsides are if you start doing a lot of crown work you quickly run out of capacity on the wider stock.

Dewalt 713

The next step up would be a 12" double bevel saw. They are a little more usable for wide crown but still lack the capacity of the sliders. The Dewalt 716 is popular in this category but it seems a bit underpowered. Of course YMMV.

Dewalt 716

If you want/need max cut capacity step on up to a 12" slider. They are expensive heavy beasts that you will cuss every time you need to move to a new location. But once you get them set up they are great.

Bosch GCM12SD

Yeah, Hitachi used to be great but like so many tool brands they have been cheapened to the point that they are basically homeowner garbage.

Although I've had my miter saw (a lower-end basic 10" Ryobi) for going on 10+ years, if and when I purchase a new one it will be a sliding compound miter saw. I wouldn't even consider anything else. Also, remember that the larger diameter blade the more oscillation you will have so larger isn't always better (unless you find yourself needing to cut something larger ).

we use the dewalt 716 more than any other of our saws.

I just picked up the ryobi 10" sliding miter saw. I was looking at budget for now. This thing cuts great, easy to operate right out of the box and I didnt think Id care one way or the other about the lazer guide, but just cut some fence posts for a project and it really came in handy. Im not the best measure-er (if thats even a word, lol).

Most of my projects are personal , around the home, nothing like full blown remodel, so I feel this will work for me, time will tell. But I have a ryobi die grinder that I have abused for 8-10years and still ticking.

Dewalt rules in this category

I really like this unit. If you are not using it in a portable capacity, you will love it even more - the saw does not have slides the move behind the unit, so you can mount it right up against a wall or other tool without interference. I believe they make a 10" version now as well.

ETA - my local tool store occasionally have factory remans available for about 20% off new, with a warranty equal to the original.

I have this guy.  Nice, smooth saw.  I've used the Dewalt, very good too.

this one won the recent Fine Homebuilding Miter box shoot out. I trust Fine Homebuilding with their reviews and testing methods. It will be my next box when my Rigid finally shits out on me.

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/tool-guide/product-finder/bosch-cm12-compound-miter-saw.aspx?nterms=65514

J-