I first learned on a Nolting at the store where I worked and I loved it. It was simple to use and once you learned which thread it liked it worked beautifully.
Once I retired I was looking for a Nolting but did not find one in my price range and eventually bought a HQ16 and I really like it also. I liked the Nolting's metal table and poled better because there was less vibration. Every thing in the Nolting is metal--no plastic and like AnnaF said with proper care it could last a long time.....but they are both very easy to work with. For me the $$ would be would be a deciding point..