I think cfullgraf's advice above is quite accurate. With regards to the Rock Island Armory model 1911s, if you research various 1911 forums you will find that the great majority of owners are quite happy with their pistols. But what seems like a significant minority of them had to send their gun back to RIA to get it working just right, or do some work on their own. In my case, early on I had some failures to return to battery and some failures to feed. I found that these issues were virtually resolved by swapping the full-length guide rod for a short GI model, and doing a bit of polishing of the feed ramp, barrel throat, and barrel hood.
Before someone comes along and tells me that I should have just gotten a more expensive pistol from another maker, I have a Springfield Armory model 1911 that has given me vastly more trouble and has had vastly more reliability issues than my RIA. And buying a more expensive pistol does not always guarantee reliability either. I have heard and read numerous accounts from owners of rather pricey Kimbers whose pistols have given them no end of trouble.
Reliability is much more of a concern for a person who plans to use their 1911 for self-defense. Of course, we would all like our pistols to function with absolute reliability all of the time, but the fact is that an occasional failure to feed or stovepipe jam at the range is really not that big a deal, and actually can be helpful in teaching you how to deal with those malfunctions.