[Recoil6]

Gentleman I seek your knowledge please; I am looking to buy a CNC machine to work with aluminum 7075 and steel 4140. Initially I was thinking of a Tormach since I want to spend around 10K however I been reading through the forum and for what I can put together I am better off just buying an used VMC, hopefully a bit of a fixer upper with tooling, I am willing to put the time to rebuild the machine and stretch out some $.
I have time to get it working is not something that I need for production, I am in no rush.
I am thinking of a Fadal, Haas or Japanese made CNC, something with linear ways, easy to service, with problems that I can fix with a bit of time, probably a 1995+. What brings me to the questions.
I am correct to be more inclined to getting a Fadal?
How many hours of usage should I look for?
I can't get 3 phase to my home so easiness to get it to work with single phase is a plus, so I would love to hear your recommendations.
My ceiling in the Garage is 9'3" however the actual garage entrance is 7' is this going to be a problem? Or is it easy to remove anything that is poking past 7" to make it through?
I would like to keep the machine as small as I can (I know they are as big as a car or bigger), what do you guys recommend, should I worry about this?
I been looking locally in Creigslist and checking online auctions like in Bidspotter.com | Industrial, Commercial, Plant and Machinery auctions and MachineTools.com, The metalworking machine & tooling marketplace for new & used equipment., however I do not feel very comfortable buying from out of state without being able to check the machine, what do you guys think? Any other places where I could check for a deal?
I thank you all for any knowledge you can share.

[slowlearner]

Where are you located? There maybe a member here that is near you that know of a mill nearby that isnt being advertised.
Welcome to the zone.

[hanermo]

Almost no VMC will fit in under 8 feet, WITH the top spindle motor removed.
You need to raise the garage entrance, more is better.

We fit some small haas machines in, just, at 240 cm == 8 feet, by removing motor and resistor coils, iirc.
The ones that do fit will cost 2-5x more.
Very rare/unusual, and higher end machines = $$$.

Note minimil is 3150 mm in height, spindle up.

Fadal is a good option, esp. in the US.

[vertcnc]

You can get a Fadal VMC 15 under a 80" door, but you have to remove Z servo and cable chain. Isn't very difficult.

[Recoil6]

Thank you all for your responses, I am in Las Vegas NV. I do not see too many used CNCs listed localy, the ones I usually see are way to expensive for me. If anyone out there has a cheap VMC let me know
Good to know that a Fadal VMC 15 will fit by removing the Z servo and cable chain, I'll keep an eye out for one of those. Once more thank you everyone for all the help.