I had the experience of getting and assembling a Prusa MK3 kit for myself, and getting access to a cheap Chinese printer at roughly the same time.

The Prusa cost more than twice as much and I've already made upgrades. Worked correctly right after assembly. I've already gone through several kilos of successful prints. And the frills just make it so much nicer to use: spring steel bed, auto mesh leveling, the Prusa fork of Slic3r just keeps getting better and better.

The Chinese printer required you to attach the gantry to the bed. But after weeks of tweaking. It still doesn't work correctly. It's completed prints. But none of them have been of decent quality. Now, some of the Chinese printers appear to be good. But do yourself a favour and research the specific models if you want to buy one.

Otherwise, if you really care about designing and prototyping, spend the extra cash and spend more time making things. There are a few brands out there. I reckon Prusa has the best kits if you swing that way.