Same here! I already had the dial set to 1970 and was ready to go shopping...

Sorry for the derail OP... back to tire changers. I don't have much to offer except that the old shop I used to work in had a Hofmann from the 1980s that was a workhorse and easy to use. We had it for probably 20 years until we had to upgrade to one of tho newer machines (due to company requirements, not that there was anything wrong with it) that I found less user friendly and not as reliable. I can't give much advice except in my view, the simpler the better. As long as the machine has enough torque and that the arm is robust and well mounted such that it doesn't flex or move around much, you should be good to go. I probably wouldn't go with a used one unless you could find one that somebody had in a small volume shop (that isn't a tire place) or a personal machine that was hardly used. If you're going to have to chase down parts and repair it, you may as well just find a reliable shop with a careful tech to change your tires for you. On the other hand, I find that newer "stuff" in general to be not as well built as it was just 20 or 30 years ago, so buyer beware I guess.

Best of luck with it!