Scott, I've only had mine for a few weeks but it came highly recommended as far as mini lathes go. I got the Micro Mark 7X14.
The minis are pretty much all the same but the MM has dials that are calibrated in the inch scale and all the others are metric. That was the main selling point for me, no conversions to worry about. Keep in mind that although I've been a metalworker my whole life I've never used a metal lathe so I don't have any frame of reference to comment on if it's any good or not. I do know tools though and any lathe you get is only going to be as good as the tooling and accessories you get for it. If you have $1,000 to spend and you blow it all on the machine then you won't have anything left for tooling and accessories. The MM is about $675 shipped so that leaves $325 for accessories. Believe me, $325 goes fast. You'll need a live center, Jacobs chuck, tap and (round)die set, machinists protractor, center drills, screw machine length drill bits( not absolutely necessary but recommended), die holder and I HIGHLY recommend a quick change tool post. The tool post that comes with the lathe needs to be shimmed every time you change tools so for the beginner it's just one less thing you have to worry about.
As far as tooling, if you get the QCTP you can use 3/8" and that's better than 1/4" for the stock toolpost. I'd get about 10 cutter blanks and be prepared to learn how to sharpen them. It's really not that hard and they're only $1.25 each. Check out Mini-Lathe.com and the Little Machine Shop for ALOT of good FREE info.
Would I buy this lathe again? If I only had $1,000.....you bet.
One more thing. I put a short piece of drill rod in the chuck and measured the runout. My dial indicator reads to .001" and the needle didn't even get to half way to .001". I think less than .0005" runout is acceptable.

