Alex, which Grizzly lathe does your son have? I started with the King 1022ML which is the same as the Grizzly G0602, which has a very large following. I had a long thread about that lathe and the issues I had with it. I still have it and worked through most of the issues. Like you said it is OK, not great but OK and it does work, after a lot of fixing, adjusting, etc on my part. I have another thread on the King 1236ML I bought a few months ago and still have a couple of issues with it. It is a much more robust lathe than the 1022 and the movements are smoother too.
There are 3 issues with the 1236 lathe. 1) My new lathe was built in Jan 2015 (2 years ago). The 2 older machines I got from KMS are both newer than the one I bought a year later. 2) the saddle clamp is missing from this lathe. The clamp is shown in the manual that came with the lathe and on the parts diagram on the King website but it is not on this lathe. 3) the tailstock moves after being locked down. I talked to KMS about the issues and they referred it to the local King rep and he referred this to the head office in Quebec. After some back and forth with King, I ended up talking the Vice President of King and explained the situation. He offered to send me a new current lathe and asked that I set that up with KMS. It is in the works right now.
As far as KMS Kamloops goes I think they are great to deal with. The owner, Rod, worked with me through all the issues I had with the 1022 lathe and was very helpful, even though I don't think he has a good understanding of lathe mechanics and operations. After I had that lathe for 3 months and went through all kinds of work to get it operating decently, I had enough and told him I wanted my money back. He reluctantly agreed, but did agree, to give me full refund. I ended up keeping it because I couldn't find anything better and after reading some reviews about the Busy Bee Coquitlam store I decided to avoid them, like the plague. Their rep for after sales support is not good. Eventually I decided I wanted a bigger lathe and went to KMS Kamloops to check out the 1236 but they did not have one in stock, so I drove to Kelowna and looked at one there. Decided I wanted one and set it up with KMS Kamloops. I wanted to get it through them because of the after sales support I got before. It was the right move. After getting the new lathe there were some immediate concerns but KMS backed their sale by giving me a 6 month trial period on the new lathe. These guys know how to treat their customers. I have no reservations in recommending them. Just be aware that the lathes they sell are Chinese and not top of the line but I believe they are comparable to other Chinese lathes in that price range. From my investigations the King lathes are identical to the Grizzly lathes and King has told me they are made in the same factory.
My wife is on the road to recovery but it is a slow one. We go into to Kamloops 2 or 3 times a week so she can exercise in the swimming pool. Unfortunately she is not interested in sitting around waiting for me while I talk machining with Terry. So it may be some time before I get the chance but look forward to it.