I don’t think it’s wrong to default to the kit. I wish more companies offered that option. If you’re going to be maintaining them, you need to be very familiar with how it goes together. However, I agree with your point if your buying in bulk. It will get really annoying to assemble multiple units back to back. Though, I believe Prusa offers discounts for repeat buyers, so the assembled option would drop in that case. Also, the Prusa Core is their latest release and we haven’t seen any deals yet. The Bambu X1C price I mentioned is the current sale price. MSRP is $1200. Going back one Prusa generation to the MK4, a fully assembled printer is only $1000 at MSRP. I still think Prusa and Bambu pricing is very compatible.

Regarding the MMU: yes, I’ve had two. I’d summarize them by calling them trash. They have both been collecting dust in a box for years. I eventually found that they were not with the effort, but regardless, I don’t believe that old accessory has any bearing on the printers themselves. If a Prusa printer did have any substantial issues on release, I would at least be comforted by the fact that you won’t be stuck with it. The upgrade kit options, extending from the early MK models through to the MK4, and now to the Core One demonstrate that commitment. I can’t think of any other manufacter doing something similar.