It has been an interesting ride for me thus far. Here are some of my thoughts. My first rep was in 1986. My second rep was in 1995. My next WAVE of reps began in 2007. In between those dates, I had many watches including lower-end Gens like Tag F1, Sector, Movado, and my favorite Seikos (Shhh- don't tell anyone, I think Seiko makes some of the highest quality watches).
Between 2007 and now, I have built quite the collection. However, recently, I have taken advantage of the down economy and began purchasing more Gen's.
I also befriended my salesman at an AD. Suffice to say, I have handled a lot of Gen's recently. And to Freddy333's point. The fit/finish and in the hand feeling is noticeable. It is nice to know the chronograph on a complicated time piece will work (consistently) out of the box...
So where am I going with this. I used to think just like you and shared the same feelings of your original post. However, I am actually now swinging back the opposite direction- toward gens. I can honestly say Rep's have been a springboard for me to buy [more] gens. While I am not swearing off reps, I will continue to use them to test, try watches that I might like to have a gen of. My other focus going forward with reps will be to build Frankens, mostly vintage, the stuff that is fun to make/hunt for parts and otherwise hard to get.
Ebb and flow, Yin and Yang. It is cyclical.
Ohhh, and one last thing, I also find myself in business situations where getting called out on a Rep would have negative consequences. It always pays to have a few nice Gen's. And if you ever start a family, that "family heirloom" Rolex, or whatever, is kinda cool. Chances are you won't be passing down your [insert rep here]. The Gen's I have purchased, have been worth it-- to me.