My experience with ARF's has been wonderful. Three in particular will surprise those who hate them:

The old Cermark Sukhoi. Wonderful plane, sturdy, absolutely a flying dream. I even bought Geistware's from him (for cheap) as a backup. I know people thought they were awful, but I got mine after a friend got one and had such great luck with it. Mine's the same, and I haven't finished the spare yet. (great with a .91FX, go easy on the low rates).

Extra 300 from V-Mar. Mine has been sturdy and a good flier, and easy to repair. I even ironed some Ultracote over the sticky covering, for a patch job. Plus, two friends bought Extras, on the strength of my recommendation, and like them. Mine has over 300 flights on it.

Lanier's original plastic ARF TR-260. Yep, the plastic shell item. I learned a whole lot on this one, in about my second year. Flew great on a .46 Magnum. Not repairable after a dumb crash, but while it lasted it was great!

Another one that nobody else loves, my Global Tequila Sunris 40. Excellent plane, about 200 flights, still flies well (but underpowered on a Magnum .46, so I retired it.)

Of course, my World Models Ultimate 30 is a great flier on a .52 fourstroke. I leave it assembled, and fly it in the winter. Fits in the back of the truck just fine, minimizes the time I spend out in the cold.

And, I've had great experiences with Vector Flight / Epic.

Good luck,
Dave Olson