I think for the money that you are going to spend then you will be better served to get the XD. Just more and better bang for the buck. You got 13 round cappacity and it is going to be more reliable.
Getting a cheap good 1911 out of the box is hit or miss. I have had some good luck but know of others that have had the opposite. You feel lucky?
I had a XD 40 tactical with 2000 to 3000 plus rounds. During the whole time I had the 40 the trigger smoothed out and it seemed to get more accurate. I can only count maybe five times that the 40 gave me a problem and that was FTFs with old reloads when it was really really really dirty. It is an awsom pistol but I sold to get a XD 45. I got nothing against 40 but I'm a 45 kinda guy and did not see a need to have to spend extra on another caliber.
Feild stripping only takes cocking it back and pressing a lever up and squeezing the trigger. Any thing you need to know is on the net or in the instructions. If you are machenicaly inclined enough to work on a 1911 or operate a can opener then a XD will present no problem.
The XD 45 fits my hand pretty well, its relaible, and simple. It is a functional pistol that will give me no doubt that it will go bang when I need it to do so. I got about 300 rounds through it and have not had any problem nor do I expect any. It is still not as accurate or has the trigger compared to my TRP.