Could Stephen the OP please clarify, do you have a lathe already? Jason has inferred that you do but, unless I have missed it, you have not actually said so anywhere in this thread.
I bought a brand new Super 7 in 1973. (Just to rub it in, with a stand, and threaded body 4 jaw and 3-jaw Griptru chucks, but no gearbox, it came to £277.) It has since been fitted with a 3-phase motor and VFD. I am hoping it might get another 15 years or so out of me before I am knackered.
There are very nice second hand machines out there for much less than a new one, and it is not hard to discern good from bad.