Whilst I personally own a Genesis and rate it very highly, I’ve seen the Spirit after several years of use and it also looked robust. But BBQing turned into a bit of a hobby for me, so just like bikes, I can convince myself the extra cost of the Genesis is worth it. If you do go down the route of following Meathead’s advice, then you’ll find yourself using a 2 zone cooking technique. In which case the extra surface area of the Genesis is very handy, because you will only be able to use half of it (one half with the burner and wood chips, one half for a water tray and your meat).
Whatever you do, just don’t get one with a stainless steel hood. It’s crap stainless steel (not much Cr) and starts spotting with rust quickly