A good long lasting machine would be a vintage Singer. They last forever. I recently bought one from 1898 and learned here on the QB to clean and service it myself. It was fun to do and it sews beautifully. The next week, I bought one from 1925 and refurbished it also using the instructions of the QB members. Yesterday, I picked up 6 more machines. I have paid less than $100 for all 8 machines. Of course, I have put some money into parts but still less than the machine you are looking at. I now have machines I love that will go on and on, machines that I can give as gifts to granddaughters and machines I can sell (and recoup some of my money). Along the way, I am learning skills that will allow me to service my own machines sooooo who cares how far away the service facility is for others...your's is right there where you live. If you need parts, you can order them online frrom some wonderful places that are also willing to share knowledge and they ship PDQ.