I have a #1+ that I've had for over 10 years. It has performed very well for me. It does not have a knee lift, though. $250 sounds like a steal. Mine retailed at $4000, though that's not what I paid. Actually, my DH bought it for me when I was pregnant with my first son.
Also, my machine is very heavy and not easy to take to classes. If you are doing embroidery, it's kind of hard to find the cards that you use for this machine. (I don't do much, mostly quilting). The next in the line, the DesignerI, used floppy discs. Now it's just direct download from the computer.
Hope this helps.