home weight gym for beginner

aylajane

My 16 year old son has been doing circuit training at the local community college for the past few months, and we decided to go ahead and get a home gym set instead this semester. I am hoping to get one I like using as well, since I REALLY need to start on that. We have free weights, but need the whole "circuit" mindset to get started since neither of us really care for free weights (in my case, I will get halfway through a lift and be so bored I just set it down and walk away... serious motivation issues!).

Looking for advice on a BEGINNER model (if we use it enough or outgrow it, we will upgrade then! or maybe move to free weights then). Looking to spend between $200-500 for this first one. I have plenty of room, but prefer it not to be huge. I want to be sure every body part has at least one option on it. I prefer not to change a lot of settings when moving from one exercise to the next but I am sure that is limited somewhat by the budget (higher end models probably better at that?).

Any suggestions? or good brands to consider? Remember - not a career move here, so I dont need the absolute best

Anything I should specifically look for in terms of features or issues to watch out for when looking at the various models?
Thanks!