You may be even more confused by the end of this thread but here is my 2 cents worth.
I have a 35year old Bernina which in that time has been serviced twice and runs like a dream. No bells and whistles but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I also have a Singer treadle machine which I am trying to tame. If I could have lifted it, I would have thrown it out the window yesterday. I'm not sure how many more lives it has got......