I use a Jet Mini lathe daily. I paid $179.00 for it, if that tells you how old it is. All I have ever done to it is replace the spindle twice, bearings numerous times, motor bearings once, and rewire the power switch to a foot switch. The lathe still runs true and the motor is strong. It's ugly as hell, but it's a good little machine. For our purposes, the Jet Mini lathes, variable or not, are a very good choice.
Al @ THO