Go down to your local welding supply house and seek the advice of an expert!!! You'll be buying consumables, renting and filling your gas bottle from them anyhow. Also figure $200 for protective equipment like a decent auto-darkening hood and a set of gloves at a minimum. Don't skimp on that stuff.
So a couple years ago I bought a Hobart 187 from Amazon while I was deployed. When I got home, I went to my local supplier to buy a bottle, gas, hood, gloved, wire, etc... First question was where did I buy the transformer, and how much did I pay? I told them, and they said they would have met the online price. Next they told me that if I didn't mind a really low time "factory reconditioned" (they're a service center, so it was a warranty trade out they repaired) unit with a full warranty, I could have walked out with the transformer, full bottle, wire, hood, and gloves as a package for what the new welder cost online.
What I'm trying to say is talk to your local welding supplier. Be honest with your needs and budget. They may be able to get you into a good used name brand machine for less than a brand new import. And I'm not knocking the Asian imports. A welder is a simple device that could easily be built anywhere in the world. BUT keep in mind that the Chinese are masters of building things "to a price". You get what you pay for, and sometimes things are cheaply sold because they are cheaply made.
