I use Priceline maybe once a month or so. I've only gotten a truly substandard room once, and even then it wasn't that bad.
I was given a smoking room, even though (1) Priceline rooms are by default "non-smoking requested", (2) non-smoking rooms were available at the property and (3) I asked as nicely as I could whether I could have one. The desk guy made an issue over it being Priceline and said he had to leave the non-smoking rooms for the VIPs, or something like that. As a consolation he gave me an aerosol can of this Smok-B-Gon stuff I could spray inside the room. The smell ended up being not much of an issue.
The irony was that the property was a crappy little 2* Homestead Village. I've used Priceline on all manner of 4* and 5* Hiltons and Hyatts and Westins and whatnot and never got anything like the attitude of Mr. I-Am-King-Of-The-Homestead-Village-And-You-Are-Getting-The-Smoking-Room. I thought it was funny more than anything else.
From time to time I get a room next to an elevator or something with not much a view, but the room (or the attitude at the desk) still ends up not much of a problem.