I wouldn't call a banshee a mechanic's nightmare by any means. Banshees are probably about the easiest quads to work on. Parts for them are easy to get, and when you do have to work on them, they are usually much cheaper to fix than a four stroke. As far as reliability, as long as you take care of your shee, it's usually a pretty reliable ride. As far as if you should get one or not, really depends on you. What kind of riding do you plan on doing? The banshees are still kings in the sand, and can be setup to do pretty much whatever else you want them to, but if you want to do something like MX, I would look into getting one of the new four strokes.