My mom bought a brand new Brother in 1964 so that's what I grew up sewing with. My oldest DD has it now. I have at least a dozen vintage 50s and 60s Brother machines in my herd and love them. My BFF has a Brother from Walmart and it's been a work horse for sure. Besides my vintage machines I also sew with a 10yr old Euro Pro and a 2yr old Juki.
The dealers don't want you buying from Walmart or other stores because they won't carry all the low end machines and don't want to match the price. They want you to buy the higher end machines they carry, that they make their money on. Every brand has their lemons and every factory has Friday/Monday machines. There are just as many people who gripe about problems with their expensive machines as there are who gripe about cheap ones. I Think whatever machine makes you happy is okay.
Cari