My Bernina lady told me that the 430, 440 and 640 are being discontinued. She said there are good discounts on them right now with the 430 being $1799 without embroidery, $2799 with. Is this a good price? Is it worth the price difference to get the 440? What do you like about these machines, pros, cons, likes, dislikes and what is different between them? Thanks is advance for your help.

I have a 440QE. I bought the embroidery module as well. I can't comment on the price (honestly, I can't remember how much I paid for it. I do seem to remember paying about $1000 for the embroidery unit.). I will say this about the 440. I love it. Sews smoothly, easy to clean and understand. I haven't used the embroidery module yet. I don't do any embroidery yet anyway. I bought it to make labels with.

The ONLY thing I dislike about the 440 is the throat size. I wish that it had a larger throat. Here is a chart that I found. Maybe it will help you.

http://www.bernina.co.uk/smcomp.html

Hi, I have a Bernina 440QE and I love mine. I bought it about 4 years ago and paid $3,400 without the Embroidery module because I did not have a decent computer to hook it up to. My sister bought both of them at the same time and she lets me use the embroidery part any time I want to although I am not so much into that. I also have an old Bernina 930 which I also dearly love and I would never give up. My husband's response when I bought the new one was "well you are going to trade in the old one right" and I said "wrong", I may need a backup. The sale price you mentioned is fabulous and I would not hesitate to jump on it. Just my prejudiced opinion. You will not be disappointed my dear.

Thank you for sharing. Looking at buying a new machine need all the information i can get.

The 440 generally comes with a Bernina Stitch Regulator while the 430 generally doesn't. If you want to free motion quilt and need the help, the BSR is nice. I have a 440 with a BSR and have had no problem with it at all. I think of the BSR as training wheels. I don't need it now, but it helped me tremendously for the first few years of FMQ. Mostly it gave me confidence. The price is good. The 400s are being replaced by a 500 series.

Pam

I have the 440 QE without the embroidery add on. I am not very good with the computer so I didn't think I would use it. I love my 440 but have not tried the 430. If you want to use the embroidery and don't need the BSR, it sounds like a good idea. You do need a computer compatable to work the embroidery on the 440, or so I have heard. I don't know if that applies to the 430 as well.

I have a 440QE. The best sewing machine I have ever owned. Love the BSR. Have not used the embroidery unit like I should.

I also have the 440QE and love it. I have the embroidery module but seldom use it and have thought about selling it.

I've never sewn on a 400 series machine, but have loved the 930, the 1031, the 530-1, 150QE, and the new 820. Honestly, you really can't go wrong with a Bernina, and if you do a lot of sewing, they are worth the extra money. I wouldn't hesitate to try and find a used one on Craigslist, as long as you do a check before purchasing. Good luck.

I have the 430 Bernina, and I love it. I didn't get the embroidery with it, couldn't afford it at the time. Now that I know they are discontinuing it, I may buy it. Thanks for the info.