I can only concur with the advice you've been given , I have an old singer 211 g 155 I've had over 20 years and it was well used when I got it , that machine still sews like the day it was new , I know an engineer that reckons this cheap Chinese stuff is lasting a couple of years under hard use then you've to throw them away because everything is worn out of any kind of acceptable tolerance. If you can get yourself and old singer 211g with walking foot and needle feed with a rising feed dog you'll never need another machine and it'll still be running when you're dead and burried!! I have the later seiko version of it that I use for everyday use and they're awesome, stay away from a pfaff 145 or 545, the stitches are too small and they don't like heavy thread , plus the lift up lever for reverse rather than a push down type is a ball ache, I know I have a 145 h3 I never use for that reason !!! I also have a Chinese built juki du 1181 copy which sews beautiful but they don't perform well round tight corners while seeing welting etc because the rear foot walks not the front and they try walking off the work piece if you're not careful, however for bags and wallets etc I bet they'd be great !
Regards Craig