Thank you for all replies, serious, humorous, and in between! I'm still on the fence. The prices of the 301s seem to be rising over the past year. The way I look at it, the current average price for a 301 long bed that has been checked out and serviced is about $275-300.00 on E-Bay. I'd be paying $150.00 for the paint job, which considering the time involved doesn't seem out of line. The husband of someone I met on the quilting retreat does this to featherweights and he gets $750.00 for his machines.
I contacted the seller to ask if this is a 301 or 301a and what the original colour was. I'll wait for her response and make my decision. Are the two tone the 301a? Just wondered why they seem to be better.