In general a belt-drive unit will outlast a direct-drive unit by at least a factor of three.
Search this or other boards for the reasons why. The best one's being no mechanical coupling of the components, better heat tolerance due to air circulation and larger oil crankcase, lower RPM for longer life et al.
Direct-drive units are built to provide performance at the limits of all of the components. Belt-drive units use the engine/motor at it's optimal RPM and (in most cases) less than designed specifications for the pump.
Using just life cycle alone a $1000 direct-drive unit is = $3000 belt-drive. Therefore, $2000 is not a bad compromise. However, shop around because local professional pressure washer dealersl sell for less.
Common macroeconomic theory holds that every $ spent locally returns $7 in total to the local economy. Never a bad idea IMHO to help out a lot of others.
Hope this helps? Cheers.