Jatt
Yea that is a bad first impresion, but that's only a display lathe. I picked up mine in person they loaded it with a fork. I only took a standard box trailer as it only weighs around 450kg and all went fine for the 20km trip home. Strait out of the crate I was impressed with the lathe it has a better fit and finishes than the hare a Forbes ones, also it has backplate mounted chucks, unlike H&F D1-4 chucks. In 6 years I have not had a problem it. I bartered the price and got them to through in the stand and live centre for free. If you can get your boss to buy it on his account, you can get the GST off which will make it cheaper for you by around $350.
I added a Miester 3 axis DRO and an H&F QA150 quick change toolpost about 4 years ago which has made it much more pleasurable to use.
John
There is no micro switch on my cover, but it is 6years old so things might have changed. Also the belt cover on these lathes are fiberglass, so it would not take much to damage it especially with a fork lift.
Davo