I had a dual tape deck with the "rubber bands" and replaced twice. I gave that one to the Sally Ann and got one with direct drives, used, from an electronics repair shop. It has worked beautifully for 4 years (occ. cleaning and demag).
I am considering a Marantz 631 Cd-R and CD-RW recorder- and may just continue to consider it- the cost! There are excellent tape decks out there since the guys who have to have the latest are turning them in to the Goodwill-Sally Anns.
A lot of good stuff out there if you look for it. Good speaker units as well can be found for very little.
Frankly, I can't tell the difference between the homemade cds and the homemade tapes. The only problem is winding and rewinding to find the part I want to listen to (no problem if I remember to use the counter when I record).