I can't imagine not having a lathe and a milling machine. You can get a south bend and bridgeport for less than you would expect but you get what you pay for.
Don't waste your money on a machine that needs to be rebuilt. Hardened ways are a good idea. Take several dial indicators and a straight piece of steel that's a least a foot long and check the run out from headstock to tailstock. You can buy ground and straight screw steel from mcmaster carr.
Check the cross slide ways for run out and just look at the overall condition of the ways. You should be able to move the cross slide and saddle in and out with no change in tension on the dials. If there's tension there's wear.
Spend the money on a good lathe in good condition. Southbend or hardinge would be my recommendation. If you can get it with tooling all the better.
Good luck and have fun. There are a million things that you can make with a lathe.
Check this guy out on youtube. He used to have a bunch of videos about lathe and mill operation that are excellent. He may be selling them now. If that is the case you may want to buy them.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKL...jAnn8E76KP7sQg