Ambassadeurs have been my river fishing and jigging reels for a while now. I think of them as the least expensive of the quality level winds. They have metal parts where the cheapies have plastic, yet the compact form factor makes them light enough for extended casting and jigging sessions. They've been on multi day steelhead drift trips, handled a 50 lb hali out of Winter Harbour, and catch lings and springs on the jig when I'm at the sunshine coast cabin. The bang for the buck aspect improves even more when you move them between different rods for different aapplications.
The design hasn't changed in years, so there is lots of experience out there in the service/repair world, and parts are widely available. Not that I've needed anything, they've been very reliable with just annual lubrication. The 6500 size in the C3 or C4 models handles the full range of BC saltwater fish, especially now that we can't target large hali. The C4 has faster gearing and a thumb bar drag release; I've come to prefer it, for feel as much as anything. A second was purchased and the C3 stays on board as a spare. Load them with Depth Hunter braid and you're ready for it all.