My first welders advice needed

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I have welded before mostly in work situations using whatever gear was at the shop . I am wanting to buy my own welders for myself . Mostly for stuff like hot rod stuff and things like that . I was in the past looking at a Tig machine but the one I was looking at isnt an affordable option for me at this time . I went to a local welding sales shop and had a look at what they have and I have been considering for mig The Millermatic 180 and for Tig I was given a few options either the Miller Maxtar 150 or the Maxtar 200 there were other Tigs but those were the options for DC only tigs . The Miller Tigs are a bit too costly so he said I could look at there budget range which is a little tig called a Time Tig 180A with HF start . The time welder is chinese which had me a bit weary but the place that sells them assured me that I would have good customer service and be able to go to them if I had any trouble or concern plus if I got the chinese Tig I could upgrade later to a better Miller DC machine or a AC/DC machine which would be nice for aluminium but I could gas alloy I guess or mig it for now . My biggest worry with buying gear is not where it comes from but just the reassurence that im buying something that will last , that will be able to be fixed and have good customer service if I need it . I am pretty happy with who I would be buying from since they sell to the local oil industry so I doubt would be silling junk . Sorry for going on and on , but my main question is with the welders I have mentioned what would I and wouldnt I be able weld obviously not alloy with the tig but what size steels and stuff would I be restricted to with 180A of Mig and Tig?
Reply:I would just learn to read the specifications on the major brand websites. Look at power requirements that you can provide, look at duty cycle and material thickness ratings. You will have to decide on which process to learn. Good luck!City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:If you want an all around machine that is easy to get started with go with the 180. It will get you started doing most everything you need for hot rodding. If you want to do aluminum or stainless at some point you can add a spoolgun.The 180 has enough jam to do light framework and everything smaller. Also keep your eyes peeled on ebay/Craig's List, Kijiji etc for welders There are some decent used ones on there at times.As tangle mentioned, this is all available on Miller's website choose the process and tell it what you want to do and it will help you select a machine.