Is a $3500 over/under a better gun than a $1500 over/under? Both are likely to be quite tight when new. Both will go bang every time and eject the empties. Either one may fit perfectly (or not). The advantages you may get from the more expensive gun......
Long term reliability.
Design, especially of things like trigger assemblies and ejectors.
Function, such as light crisp consistent triggers, properly fitted and regulated choke tubes, smooth non sticky ejectors.
Quality and heat treatment of metal components.
Careful mating and fitting of components.
A rigorous quality control standard.
Many decades, sometimes centuries, of building a reputation, you can't buy that and it is priceless.
Reliable timely manufacturer support when new and years down the road.
Resale value somewhere down the road.
Longevity. How many 30-40-50 year old Berettas, Brownings, Winchesters, SKB's, do you see still giving excellent service? How many no name Spanish or Turkish guns ?
Now you may get all of those things in the less expensive gun gun but the chances are this gun will be deficient in one or more of these areas. Anybody can make a cheap gun ( or any other product), making a good gun requires continual dedication to that standard. I'm not saying that inexpensive guns are poor guns but the more expensive ones from makers like Beretta, Browning, Winchester, Savage and others are on average better in many ways. As in other things in life, you get what you are willing to pay for.
For hunting purposes, casual trap range visits and general all round light duty service the less expensive gun may be the perfect option, particularly for those who are careless of their equipment.
Step up to the $5000 gun and as has been said, you still get the same well proven basic design but with more bling and/or special features for special types of use. Worth it? Well the bling will provide pride of ownership, the special features may provide a few extra targets for a competitor. It's worth it to many people, not to others.
The $10,000-$20,000 and up gun takes you into a completely different world. Here you find beautiful hand crafted safe queens and lifetime quality competition guns for the serious high level competitor. If this is your goal and you can afford to play in these fields there is no other course.
Remember, all these guns are tools and made to do the same tasks, they just approach it from different perspectives. A Chevy Spark will take you to the store for a loaf of bread or six pack of beer just as well as a Cadillac and may last as long and be even more trouble free but Cadillac still sells lots of cars and Cadillac owners almost never trade down to a Spark. Only you can decide what is right for you and even then, 5-10 years down the road your interests and goals are likely to have changed. So why limit yourself to one gun?
