If you would be satisfied with a vintage machine, I have bought and fixed up quite a few machines from Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other types of thrift stores. Sometimes there are lots of machines; at other times it seems I had to wait a month of two to find one. Most of the good working ones cost about $30 to $35 in my area (upper Midwest). I would try the machines out in the store (they all have wall plugs you can use). If you decide to try this, pack a small container that includes some fabric and thread, a small pair of scissors, some standard needles, some standard size bobbins, a standard presser foot (from your old machine would be fine) and a small screwdriver. What I looked for mostly was good wiring (not stiff or broken), the ability to form a stitch, and a bobbin case. If the machine could do that much, I could clean it at home and fix it myself. Almost all of the vintage machines used short shank feet.
It's not the season right now, but garage sales are also a good source for vintage machines. I have picked up some really nice ones in working condition for $15 to $30. One was even a newer Viking machine that the teenagers in the house did not seem to know how to use. I didn't even try that one out; just took it home for $15. Whoever owned it did not know enough to clean the lint out from underneath the needle plate. Once I did that, the machine worked very well!
Last edited by Prism99; 01-04-2013 at 07:19 PM.