I own 2 sergers. The first, a now elderly Singer 4 thread, was a cheapy on sale at Sam's. The kids were small at that moment and I was making all their clothes. I was also repairing rags and towels with ratty edges and, I confess, cloth diapers. I think a set of draperies for our library was also on that period's list. Anyway, the machine is small, plastic and it just recently had its first professional tune up - it has stuck with me all this time. Oh one more thing. The kids turned out to be drum corps/marching band freaks. The various groups needed help with band and colorguard uniforms. The cheapy went to the "get ready to go on tour camp" and altered band uniforms as well as making guard uniforms and flags for the show. One year it put satin collars and lapels on over 100 band uniforms as well as doing the alterations. The satin stitch ruled! It also occasionally rode the bus for a couple of tour weeks along with an elderly Elna that did other sewing stuff.
The second machine is a Husky 5 stitch with a chain stitch capability and a couple of sets of nifty feet to attach various kinds of decoration to fabric. Computerized and quite a step up from the Singer. It gets better treatment - kids are out on their own. I use it for fancier applications but it often gets duty with plain old serging. I still take the ratty edges off of things. I keep close track of its innards because any problems I cannot handle have to be sent out of town. It came with the stern instruction that if you tinkered with its innards the assorted warranty stuff would no longer apply. It is a goodly piece down the road from the day I bought it butt I can assure you my first act after getting it out of the box was to apply appropriately sized screwdrivers and check out how everything was placed and where the fuzz and threads were likely to congregate in its innards. I also write on my machines so it and its sisters in the sewing room have printed tattoos.
The two sergers are always up in my sewing room. One is threaded with white and the other with, you guessed it, black! They are not the most used equipment in my sewing room but they earn their spots on the desk. The Singer is prissier to thread but practice and use help a great deal. Also good light. And the trick of attaching the new thread to the old one (knot) and then carefully pulling the attached threads until the new one is through the various hooks, tensions, etc. Then the only thing left is to thread the needles and run a chain and sample to test the new set-up.
Yes, I quilt using the sergers. Shhh, don't blow my cover.
Pat