Denon used to make some fairly decent inexpensive decks. Check out for one of those used. I have a Denon DRW 840 dual well deck I bought in the mid 90's and am quite happy with it. My only complaints are that it's not a three head deck and that the wells aren't backlit - that would have been a nice touch. Spend as much as you can afford if you have a large tape collection as it will pay you back over time by not eating your tapes plus you'll have better sound to boot.
Good one bug.
Good one bug.