Singers are going for dirt cheap - reason? They no longer make parts for them! Our LQS services them, but warns customers that there aren't any more parts available, so if it breaks, it's a goner. You'd be better of with a brand name, newish, used machine. Most LQSs will give you a 1 year warranty on a used machine. If nothing goes wrong in a year, it's probably not going to have any problems. Please rethink your Singer purchase!