the brother machines from walmart range in price from about $89-$159 are all pretty good machines. they are user friendly, do a good job, handle lots of use. they do wear out (depending on how much abuse you put them through) but the ones we had at the sewing school held up to tons of abuse from many different people using them..i only had to replace one in 3 years, and it was the one the kids fought over the most so was used the most. i think i even did get it fixed and gave it to one of the kids who needed a machine at home. so i always recommend the brother machines for a second machine, or for newbies to learn on. they are very affordable and hold up well (and i believe will last longer than 3 years used by one person instead of 20+) but they will hold up long enough for you to decide you want to upgrade to a fancier machine.