SherylM

I bought an early 60's vintage machine from someone whose mother hardly ever used it - she said she just didn't sew much. It was in immaculate condition with all of the parts, including the owners manual. It's a tank - weighs about 40 pounds and sews beautifully. I love it.

I also bought a machine that was frozen up and beat up; it looked like it had been dropped and had bent parts. I found replacements for the damaged parts and got it un-stuck with sewing machine oil. It also sews great.
Another machine was filthy, had a mouse nest in it and the wiring was shot. I cleaned it, oiled it, and installed a hand crank on it. Her name is Minnie and she also sews great.

yeah...if it's a machine that's calling to me, I'm not too put off if it's not perfect. That's the beauty of vintage mechanical machines - you can almost always get them working again.