craftgrrl | singer 5040 / brother nx-200, etc

i couldn't find a post specifically about this in the memories, so... does anyone have experience with a singer 5040? is it good or does it suck? i've heard bad things about the quality nowadays but i'm interested because it has an overlock stitch (i need a serger, and they have an optional foot for trimming the fabric) and it's cheaaap. also, i've got a singer/brother shop down the street from me so it's easy to get it serviced and find stuff i need.

i'm a fashion student & i'm taking a lot of garment construction classes so i need something to be able to handle a variety of fabrics. i have a brother VX950 that's about 17 years old and has never been serviced. it just keeps messing things up so i never get anything done. it was my mom's and she never really took care of it. :/

edit: i took my sewing machine into the shop to see if it could be saved, & there happens to be something inside it that's cracked (i forgot what it was) so there isn't a way i could fix it. the guy said it wasn't that great of a machine outside of the box and that it was a more cheaply made model that places like service merchandise, etc carried. uhh the trade-in value for my sewing machine was $28. he showed me a brother NX-200 and it was really nice. he showed me how it could go thru like 91723 layers of denim & leather. it was on sale for $400, so i'm still wondering about the other models (singer 5040, brother CS8072 and PC2800).

if anyone has alternate suggestions also, that would be great... i've been trying to research machines for a while now and i'm just getting more & more confused! thanks!