People get all hung up on getting really good, expensive, tools. Yes, it is nice but I generally prefer to have the cheapest tool that will do what I need. That way, when I lose it, burn it, drop it, have it stolen, electrocute it, inadvertently drop it in a vat full of acid, have it chewed up by the alternator belt in the car, or my wife hits me over the head with it, I lose something I can afford to replace and not something I need to get a mortgage to replace.
I have about 8 or 10 meters, some better than others, some more specialized, and I try to use the cheaper ones for routine work and only use the better ones I keep at the bench when I absolutely need to. About every two or three years I forget to change the leads or the scale or something and I blow up a meter. Thankfully it has always been a cheapo meter and I only felt bad for a few minutes while I went to find the next one in line.
BTW, the first thing I would do is review/check/repair what you have. Make sure battery is good, contacts are clean, rotary selector switch contacts, etc. I see no reason why it should not work.