Newbie, New Mig which one should i get?

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hey guys im julian and wanna say awesome site, have already spent many hour checking out the posts. Ive read on the forum to ask questions if a certain welder is good before buying so here i am.First of all im not sure if i should purchase a inverter or not. Is it new technology? is it reliable? or is it best to stick to a transformer one?1. Skill level: Zero never welded2. Intended use: - hobbies, no specific purpose, a welding cart, perhaps a trailer once skill has developed, later on maybe a hand rail, bash plates for dirt bikes, a welding table, some shelving. (the unit im looking at is multifunction so perhaps some thin stainless welding with the tig)3. Location: in an enclosed garage. Doesnt have to be portable its not going anywhere. I have my eye on two units. Manufacturer is Unimig, been around in Australia since 1985, spare parts everywhere easy to find etc. have an address and phone numbers with head office in Australia.Im not sure if a 200amp will be strong enough or is it best to splash out and get a 250amp price difference is less than $500. (Please decide on my behalf with my intended uses outlined above)* Please note scroll to the bottom of the link for full specs*250 amphttp://www.unimig.com.au/catalogue_p...&subcategory=2200 amphttp://www.unimig.com.au/catalogue_p...&subcategory=2and the full manual link is herehttp://www.unimig.com.au/userfiles/f...G%20Manual.pdfLook forward to hearing  your opinions. Thanks
Reply:Bigger is always better, I always try to get the most amps and most features I can get with the available cash.  That way my tools are current for a little longer before they are relegated to the other catagory.  I never sell my tools so I have a few in that catagory, but they still work and do what I bought em for so I have no complaints either.  Using a tool at it' s design max will cause wear, tear and frustration, so go bigger whenenver possible, you wont regret it in the future.I'm spending my Kids inheritance, I dont like him that much anyway!!!!!!Enuff tools to do the job, enough sense to use em.Anybody got a spare set of kidneys?  Trade?
Reply:Out of all the things you listed that you want to build the trailer should be the last since it will require the most of your skills in laying a sound bead.  Either machine will suit your needs and will be some thing to grow into for years to come.  The draw back into buying a multi function machine is that there is always a compromise in that you loose features or a little quality in how the machine performs compared to individual machines.  Maybe you can price out a separate mig and tig/stick machine.
Reply:hey thanks guys. my main concern was whether the machine would do the tasks i want to do. I dont really care about the tig function im planning on buying a high freq one later down the track. However my main draw to this machine is its duty cycle. comparing the 200amp one the unimig  has 35% duty cycle compared to a transformer one of just 18%. However this isnt the case in comparisions with the 250amp inverters and transformers they're the same cycle.Which is more bullet proof and inverter or a transformer?thanks guys
Reply:nerdstar,200 amps is more than plenty for home welding stuff, period.Unimig to my understanding have machines that come from Italy? and Australia? The Aussie made ones are not as good as the ones from Italy, so I hear.  Not sure how true this is regarding Italy and Australia, just what I have heard in the industry.But from my point of view Unimig are a cheap brand and I know of people who have bought these machines and had to send them back.  But I guess that can happen with any machine, some more than others.WIA and Cig weld are good machines.  Have you looked at BOSS, again only on the lower end of the market but I did see a BOSS machine weld against a smaller Lincoln and the beads were better on the boss. I guess that was a pretty straight and clean cut example that I saw myself.  Which is more bullet proof.  Well my bet would be on the older transformer style only because of less parts etc...Which reminds me of another unimig that had to go back in twice because of a faulty board or something.  Don't mean to put you off unimig, but these are real life examples that I have been told about or seen myself etc.