The Singer 403 is the same machine as the Singer 401A which is considered by many to be the greatest sewing machine ever built. The only difference between the 2 machines is the 403 uses black 'Top Hat' cams to form all the stitches - including zigzag. You will have to have a complete set of cams to do all the stitches but, once you have them, the machine is trouble free since there is no built in cam stack, like the 401A, to get gummed up. If you can get it for a good price with all of its fiddly bits you'll have a great machine.