It's ALL about context. Usage, new, old, size, cost, 'Merican vs Other:
Usage: what will you use it for? What will be cut? How long are the parts you expect to cut on it?
New/old: Much like buying a car, there a lot to be said for both. New, you pretty much know what you're getting, and get a warranty, and spend far more money. Used, you have to know what to look for and avoid. A big question is: are you looking for a tool to immediately put to work and produce accurate results, or a restoration project? Do you want 0.001 accuracy or 0.0001? Do you need that accuracy?
Size: how much room you have will strongly focus the options.
'Merican vs Other: Probably the most contentious factor of all, and again, it depends entirely upon the buyer's mindset. Either source can be justified depending upon your situation. Just keep in mind that buying used equipment doesn't hurt or harm any country. A typical comment heard is "that foreign POS lathe wouldn't last a day in our (commercial) shop." The answer is "right, and it's not going into a commercial shop, is it." In the right context, an import lathe may well outlive a domestic machine simply because it's use 100X less.
Bonus issues:
Beginners usually overlook tool cost, and as more experienced hobbyist point out, figure a couple thousand for that, regardless of the machine. And finally, the cost to get the machine into your shop. Doing it yourself saves a lot of money, or puts you in the hospital, or worse, if you fail. It's thousands of pounds to deal with, so previous experience is mandatory. Paying someone to move it sure makes things easy, but going even 5 miles can run between $200 - $800.
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I've owned two lathes, both used. The first was a Grizzly 12x36 Taiwan-built lathe from the early 1980s that I got in the late 1990s for $1200. It served me well during fabrication of the two scratch-built cars in my signature. I never once needed all of the bed length for what I used it for.
Eventually I decided to restore it, and even had the parts on-hand. The only thing holding me back were stories about what it took to get the head stock apart. During that hesitation, a late 1980's Japanese-made Takasawa TSL-800 popped up for sale not 3 miles from home. I had just become intrigued by them and long story short, ended up with it for $1500. The "800" refers to the bed length (31"), so even though it weighs more than twice as much as the Grizzly, it fit in the same physical space. I expect that it'll exceed all my needs. The Grizzly was sold for $1500, so the Takasawa was essentially a free upgrade, but of course new tooling blew that savings out of the water.
Lastly, I, too, live in the San Diego area and there are always many lathes on CL. Number one piece of advice, don't be in a hurry.
PS: I did buy a new Taiwan mill. I'm very happy with it, but do wonder if buying used would have been better; the problem is defining what "better" means. Oh, and regarding having a DRO, I've used machines both with and without. Personally, I REALLY like having a DRO on the mill, but on a lathe, I consider them very much a not-so-necessary accessory.
