That didn't stop me from keeping an eye on craigslist though. I managed to score a gently used rebranded Sieg 7 x 12 with a bit of tooling. I have since learned that this is the same lathe sold by harbor freight and grizzly as well as a few other companies. They're all made in the same factory and are of surprisingly good quality for the price. One definite upside to all of this is that both replacement parts and upgrades are readily available. Of course this means that I had to go and buy some of them. :)
Here it is in the back of the car:
