My first machine was a $99 Brother from Wal-Mart and she sewed fine. You just have to clean and oil them regularly. My second machine was a Singer I paid $500 for, same thing - clean and oil and they'll run for ever. Now I've a Janome 7700. He, Sonny, has a lot of bells and whistles.
I would have never spent a ton of money on a machine until I new I would utilize him to the potential. If your daughter is just starting out, a low end machine will get the job done, as long as it stitches well. This helps if the quilting bug has not sunk her teeth into her. When I first started quilting, life - job - kept getting in the way and now that I'm disabled it's the only thing that keeps me going.
Or, Christmas is only six months a away, maybe everyone can pitch in to get her a slightly better machine with a few upgrades. Joann's usually has a black Friday speacial for $79 and last year it was a singer. My friend was lucky and the store by him did not receive their shipment so they upgraded him with the nachine that was on sale for $99 with needle threaders and needle position is adjustable.