i bought a little china made dc tig off ebay for 250 delivered, it doesn't do aluminium but does up to 15mm stainless steel and around 10mm carbon steel it struggles with the thicker stuff a little but i think thats mainly because i cut the 15amp plug of and put a 10 amp on it.

for what it is and how much it cost im very happy with it, my old man even reckons it goes alright and he's a pressure pipe welder. only thing is i can't remember if i got a tig torch with it but if i did it was #OOPS# so i got a new one

here's the link to the same model as mine http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LIFT-ARC-TIG-W ... 2a07f1c74d#ht_4128wt_1026 also depends what you want it for to, if your gonna spend 1000 dollars on one you might as well spend a bit more and get one that plasma cuts too