I buy cheap machines. I also know I'm going to have a significant amount of time in them to get them cleaned up and working the way they should. Many times they're fine mechanically but there's always a couple hours of fiddling and cleaning before I'm happy. Low buying price and bargain are two entirely different things. Many times a person will be happier in the long run and money ahead by buying a a complete working machine in good cosmetic condition as compared to the same machine in poor condition. Quite frankly I have far more time than money. I also see the cleaning and fixing as part of the fun. The downside is I don't own any of the showroom perfect early machines that I covet. You get what you pay for. I do ask questions here but I usually do the reading and watching youtube videos first.
There's always a little give and take. People who ask questions about how to fix things don't offend me. At least they're showing some sort of active interest in the machine itself.
My pet peeve is the one hit wonders who sign in once and just want to know what to sell Grandma's machine for. I've pretty much given up responding to those questions.
Rodney