I have to say 'you gets what you pays for' seems to me a dubious proposition at best.
The implication that the more you spend the better the quality you receive seldom if ever holds true.
Especially in an area of such rampant subjectivity. What I value may be irrelevant to you and vice versa. A piece of kit delivering precisely what I want is better than one which does not. Regardless of what I paid.
Reliability? I have literally never spent anything on my Behringer or Bugera amps. Had one since my kids were small. In the same time period I've had Trace, Ampeg, Eden, Markbass, Ashdown all need serious money and time spending on them.
I got rid of my Stingray because I straight up didn't like it. But my Harley Benton sounds amazing. To me. Can't measure any of this of course. There may be something only expensive gear can do and that may be the thing somebody needs/wants above all else. If so, yes you need to spend the money.
When I toss up between my old patched together Trace box loaded with a speaker from a Behringer cab and my Barefaced, it comes down to the ease of the load in. The weight is the only factor, not sound, reliability, headroom, price, none of it