It's funny - I bought a Singer 404 on e-bay - in a cabinet several years ago - and it sat and sat in my garage - until my Pfaff froze up on me and son #2 was in a sewing mood - so we hauled it in - and it's working nicely!
Now I'm seriously searching for a good working Singer 401.
I've found that I use very few of the built in stitches on the machine I do have.
And if I want some embroidery done, it might be more cost effective to hire it done, rather than buying a machine and all that goes with it.
Maybe a few sour grapes here - but I don't really think so. I'm not much into fancy/decorative.