I know everybody has their favorite engine brands, and OS is pushed by Tower and they're good engines..... But when guys are on a limited budget, what are the options?

When I learned to fly, I bought the cheapest engines the LHS had - Enya .40SS - which was a bushed engine with air-bleed carb. The engine freaks shook their heads at me. But the old engine freaks said "Good choice. Once it's broken in, it'll last forever." And it did. Stone reliable, same RPM after 4 years, no issues. Wasn't the most powerful thingy, but I ended up buying another one, and they flew all the .40 stuff I had, including my clipped-wing Goldberg Cub, the same Cub with a full wing and floats (different prop, thankyouverymuch), would hover my Balsa USA Stik for a short time.......

So - are there any horrible engines left? I value reliability and easy handling over sheer power. Fox's are reliable, but hard to tweak when you're a beginner....... what else?