I've got an Alvarez Yairi dreadnought that I bought new in 1985 or 86. Solid spruce top, laminated rosewood back and sides -- a poor man's D-28, basically. It's a good solid, reliable guitar, good woods, very nice neck, decent sound. It was my main guitar for a few years when I was struggling financially, and these days it's my backup guitar (for dangerous gigs, trips to the beach, etc.). I paid around $600 for it, with a good hardshell case thrown in, and have always felt like I did well.

The Seagulls I've played are very good for the money, and more "alive" than a lot of other guitars in the same price range. But I don't think they could handle a lot of hard traveling. A few postings up, someone referred to them as "disposable" guitars, which sounds about right to me. Give it another ten years or so, and it'll be interesting to see how many of today's models are still in active service.