If any of you are in the market for a machine (or know someone who is)
Damark has a factory refurbished Hitachi for $179. This is the model
with the jam and rice maker setting (which I have no plans to use)
that usually sell for around $300.
We just got ours and it's great. We're still experimenting with the
basic whole wheat recipe and crust darkness, but so far everything has
worked just fine. The kneader is a little scratched and we're
thinking of trying to get it replaced, but other than that, no
problems.