I have owned a P89 and shot P94s and I will say I will never own another Ruger 9mm, though I probably will own a .45acp P90.
One of my friends had a P90 that was incredibly accurate (for the price the gun had no business being that accurate), reliable, indestructable, and inexpensive. I actually kinda like the looks of the P90 and P89. However, they are kind of crude and don't feel to me to be very "nice".
His gun was a good enough value that after some looking I decided upon a P89 as my first auto and second handgun. I really wanted the P90 but didn't want exactly what my friend had and as an only auto the cost savings of shooting 9mm ammo made the P89 more attractive as well.
Well, it was 100% reliable for me (out of about 2K rounds) and did seem indestructable. However, it inspired absolutely no pride of ownership. Worse, it wasn't very accurate for me and being a new shooter at the time there was no excuse for me to be more accurate than the gun (though it could just have been that it wasn't a good ergonomic match and in other hands it would be accurate- though I doubt it since I was accurate w/ the dimensionally identical P90). I was accurate w/ friends guns and with rentals (well, more accurate than w/ the P89 anyway) so it wasn't just me. Am I willing to grant that I may have just had a bad one- yes and no. I've heard from many others that the P89 isn't particularly accurate. However, I may have simply had too high expectations because of the P90.
If you are set on a Ruger 9mm I'd suggest the P95 because it is supposed to be more accurate.
For me, I'm one of the voices that would suggest a CZ. Mine is almost 100% reliable, and most people seem to have similar experiences. However, I would say the Ruger is somewhat more reliable- I have heard of lemon CZs (not many) but never a lemon Ruger 9mm, plus I've had a very small number of bobbles w/ my CZ and I had NONE w/ the Ruger. Where the CZ really shines is everywhere else. It is amazingly accurate, the ergonomics are such that it fits almost everyone's hand well, the fit and finish is great, and it just feels like a quality gun. I loved mine so much that I got a CZ 40B a few months later and now a year later I am considering another 75/85 variant, a 97 and/or a 100 before the supply of CZs dry up in MD (they don't have the MD required built-in lock so any made after Jan 1, 2003 can't be sold here).
Other good budget 9mms to look at as well:
-A Hi Power clone. These guns have great ergonomics and are a classic design. The FEG and FM clones have good reps and are both quite inexpensive (especially the FEG will be significantly less than a CZ or a Ruger).
-A Taurus PT 92 or PT 911. The metal framed Taurus autos are very high quality guns. The PT 92 is a little more than a Ruger however, though the PT 911 will be about the same.
-A S&W 908 or 910. The value series S&Ws are about as good as the regular guns but cost about the same as Ruger.
-A used SIG, Glock or S&W.
