Yep, I'm a member. Although not all YMCA's are the same I have been to two in my city and both have had extremely new equipment (couple months old at most). And the pool times for lap swimming were very reasonable. I cannot comment on swimming lessons provided by the YMCA, but I took a few private ones at the Y, but from someone not affiliated with the Y. They were great.
The Y is very cheap (not as good as university rates, but still good) and if it is close to you, then I would go for it. I have enjoyed my experiance there very much.
NOTE: I am a student, so I only pay 24 dollars a month.