Really sorry to hear that ChopperT, nothing more expensive than a bad purchase.
I've had a bit of a love/hate thing going on with mine until recently when I invested in VueScan and was thinking seriously about either just getting pro scans done or upgrading to a dedicated film scanner that would do 35mm and 6x6, etc.
However, now I've started to get used to it, I'm quite pleased with it. Although I've never owned any other scanner, I doubt you'll find much better value for money than an Epson V750 Pro, especially if you can find one second hand.
Hope your search bears fruit.
Paul.