any thoughts on Sun Special sewing machines?

My grandma bought me one as a graduation gift because I'm starting to sew more frequently, but so far it's been pretty shitty (thread scrambles all the time, the machine is the noisiest I've ever seen and the oil that comes with it makes my hands burn but that part is just me being petty anyway) though it was pretty damn expensive- around $260, while the singer I was more inclined to buy was like $150 or so.

So I was wondering, did my grandma get in a bad business? Or is the brand good and I'm just a shitty operator? Thanks in advance for the help!