I have a pair of the first gen Spyders and they are still rock solid, I also played amateur competitions with them.

As rick said the Tippmann guns are excellent entry level guns as well...most fields use them as rental guns because of their reliability and ease of repair as well as parts availability.

If you are going remote tank than definitley get yourself a water remover thingy(god its been so long since I played I forgot the name of things ) because water going through the chamber makes for some interesting reactions from those hit......and you will be DQd for shooting a hot gun.