We have an ice cream maker and we use it- a few points:
– It completely depends on the recipe you use. A good recipe will produce a good ice cream (to compare to cholov stam…our ice creams have been likened to Haagen Daaz and Ben & Jerry’s). A bad recipe will not be as good.
– It is cheaper (or at least it comes close) to buy ice cream (even at current prices) then to make it. Also remember that making ice cream also requires an input of time (better ice cream=more time)
All that being said I think, if you have the time, it can be worth it- you control the ingredients & flavors, no additives, and some of the best Cholov Yisroel ice cream we’ve ever come across.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.
for refference we paid about $20 for our machine about 16 years ago)