Yes, I have experience with both - modern tables from Pro-ject and Music Hall and a pristine vintage one. I also agree that a properly functioning vintage table made in Japan by Technics, Sony, Micro Seiki, et al can compete and perhaps even sound better than modern Class C (as you put it) offerings. Providing they are operating at factory spec! So you have to careful as this should not be a blanket statement. There a lot of newbies out there using 40 year old CL tables that sound horrible because someone said how great vintage is and it can be found cheap.
Also, the problem is that there is little to no GOOD VINTAGE available at a couple of hundred. There is only VINTAGE needing repair in order to be made GOOD at this price. If one has the skills to do the work themselves, great - vintage is the way to go vs. entry level modern tables. If not though and a repair shop has to be found, then the good vintage becomes far more than a couple of hundred.