I was glad to see a post on here earlier that someone wrote who is shopping for a new machine. I have been thinking of doing that for a while now, and I read the replies that were posted. I have a Brother machine that I bought at Wal Mart, and it does pretty good, but it is a not as smooth as I would like. I notice that many people on here love to use the vintage machines and feel that they perform much better than newer models. My question is this....Are you still able to get parts (bobbins, needles and other parts) for the machines and can you work on them? I have always wanted an old machine just to display. Now I find out that I might even enjoy sewing on one! I would not have any idea how or what to buy or what was a decent price on one. I know there is a thread on old machines somewhere, but I was not sure where. It sounds like that where newer machines are concerned everyone has their favorite. My daughter has a PFAFF, and it seems to work well. I think she only paid about $300 for it, so it was probably one of the less expensive ones. That might be an option for me. I do like the way it sews. I can't explain exactly why I like it better, but it just has a smoother more solid feel when you are sewing. I do mostly straight stitching, but in time I may want to try some other things. I would like to try to machine quilt at some point, too. Now I just piece. What type of vintage machine is easy to operate? What questions would I need to ask the seller about a machine that I was considering? Any suggestions would be appreciated.