Hi Pete
The reason i highlighted the separate feed shaft was the fact that i was in the same situation as yourself when i bought my lathe 40 year ago(strapped for cash) I bought an Elliot Emcomat7L and @ the time it cost GBHP750 which was a fair lump of cash. I have always regretted not getting the next model up that had the power feedshaft and larger capacity. to try and save wear on my leadscrew i rough a job out using the handwheel on the saddle and reserve the leadscrew for the final finishing cut. trust me this can get a bit old very quickly.One major benefit of owning a lathe is you can produce a thread of almost any diameter and pitch, external and internal.
The choice is yours but i would buy the best spec machine as previously advised and wait till you can afford the additional toys. I only got my QCT about a year ago and i am not over impressed as the tool holder overhangs the the end of the topslide adding a levering action. you can manage perfectly well without one, all you do is keep your packing with the tool so you don't have to set the hight until you do a regrind.
Regards
Mike