The implication is that if you want something of quality you are going to expect to pay for that quality.

If it’s cheap then corners were cut. Several years ago the tech was just as you described. Not perfect. I bought an ender 3 pro and it wasn’t perfect. I sank a lot of money into it to get an “acceptable” result. It sounds like you selected hard-mode and chose a Delta. I can’t imagine what you went through. I hope you’re ok.

I recently got back into the hobby, and decided to spend more for a better quality printer. Prusa was the Cadillac back when I was toiling in upgrades. What I have found is that newer printers and and slicer software have made a drastic leap forward. Things are markedly better all around.

Based on my journey I suggest you spend more for quality. Right now that’s Bambu lab and prusa. Prusa is behind, but the customer service is there. Bambu is going through some legal troubles, so that is something to consider.

I chose Prusa, but it was a tough choice. I probably would have been just as happy with Bambu, but I would have paid more.

I think because it’s been a a minute since you’ve dabbled you’ll find things have improved. Maybe don’t buy a delta. The Prusa MK4s bed slinger is the fastest bed slinger. The Bambu core XY is faster and comes with an enclosure. Prusa just announced a Core XY but it wont ship for months and it smaller in build dimensions.

As far as budget printers go, I haven’t wasted any time looking into them. I wasn’t gonna mess around and find out this time. Maybe there is something out there that would make you happy, but I’m not going to gamble and suggest one.