I think it is important to realize the real requirement and the real cost of satisfying the requirement before you go looking to solve it. I say this because I suspect you may have the cart in front of the horse.
I am assuming this is for a hobby requirement as opposed to a commercial one. I further suspect this lathe will be the ONLY lathe. If that is so, the single lathe must be sized correctly and must be fully equipped with all the accessories. That being said, when buying new, those accessories like taper attachment, metric change gears, thread gauge, chucks, collets, tool post, face plates, dogs, centers etc. can easily double the cost from the basic lathe. Now, many lathe makers offer some of that equipment as standard, but each one is different. I highly suggest that you make a master list of features and accessories that you need. This list must be checked off for every offer you receive. You will soon realize that a well equipped used machine will be much less expensive than a new one, even considering transport costs. Please do not limit your search to just your local area. Your best used lathe deals will be from industrial areas, not residential ones. Be prepared to buy there. The following are some machine tips that I find important.
Your spindle must be D1-4 or D1-6 because of availability and accessory cost. Anything else suffers availability and price issues.
Your spindle must have at least 12 speeds without the use of a 2 speed motor. Your lowest speed must be 50 rpm or lower. The highest speed should be at least 2000 rpm. Many Asian machines have only 9 speeds and the speed selection is not low enough.
Many of the Asian machine cut less than 40 thread pitches. The better machines do many more threads and feeds. Pay attention.
Lathe power: You do want a 3 phase machine of at least 3hp. 5hp is better. If you only have single phase power, get an inverter.
The Asian machines are getting better. The best are made in Japan, Korea and Taiwan in that order. Avoid European machines, not because they are bad, but because accessories are usually proprietary, hard to source and expensive.
