It is certainly not for the engineering. I purchased a Makerbot and was horrified at what passed for engineering in the design of their product. They claim some absurd accuracy in the Z axis, when on my machine (Thing O matic) the Z axis carrier would flex a 1/4 inch while printing. How can you have .00? accuracy when the whole platform flexes .250?
That is basically my experience with them as well. I've assembled or performed significant maintenance on every printer model they've put out, except maybe the replicator 1, and I've never been impressed. Their extruders are especially nightmarish, even in comparison to the standard reprap setup.
I've also had the pleasure of looking at disassembled Stratasys machines, and the design and workmanship are pretty impressive.
