There are many discussions here about buying a lathe.
Here is the story on the Smart and Brown: I went against most of the advise given here. The only advise I followed was being handy with the cash and transport ready. I had never heard of Smart and Brown before the auction advert. There was no opportunity for a preview (other than the hour of waiting for other lots to sell), the machine could not be tested, access to the machine was limited (there were other lots piled near by), there was no report on condition or anyone present who had information on it (the machine had been sitting for several years) and one of the housings for the cross slide was broken (broken pieces in a plastic bag in the chip pan). The sale was as is / where is.
I got it for $1700. Was that a lot? Obviously that is a relative term. You keep hearing of some fabulous deals of some tool maker's estate with a bunch of dream machines going for pennies on the dollar - "gee, wouldn't that be nice?" I've pointed out to countless people that is not a realistic way to get into home machining. When a machine comes up that seems right for you - you generally get 2 choices, take it or leave it. At my price point, I can't be choosie.
I've picked up several machines that I think are good deals. Every one who has been to my shop claims they wish they could have found such a deal (like I practically stole it). Every one of my "great deals" came because I worked at it. Every one was some sort of well published sale - other people just didn't see the gem.
The S&B is a Mk1 (so a round head, no variable feature), it came with what I think of as the standard dress: 3J, 4J, TTA, SR/FR, FP, collet draw bar. The bed appeared fine, a RapidO post and no holders. The works original components are difficult to track down. This was never a cheap machine, while it had seen some tough days, for the most part it would have been well cared for. Also, a good quality machine can withstand some neglect and still be okay. I assumed that replacement parts would not be available, and I would be making them (turns out many parts are still available, but at prices that would take one's breath away). It has the same spindle as my larger lathe. Considering the good and the bad, just from what I could see - I decided it was for me.
The result has been very satisfying. The machine is very nice to run, quite and well thought out. It has a good high speed, but I really like the low speed (slower than my larger machine). I have never had a variable speed machine, so the shift on the fly is quite a treat.