You are right, mytwopals, mechanical can be just fine. I have a mechanical now. I guess I'm hoping that when I upgrade I'll get a few more features as well as greater reliability. I'm still considering mechanical alongside computerized--I just want a machine that will be a workhorse...

Thanks so much for the feedback. I do think the dealer issue is huge. I am looking into that now.

Those of you who recommend Viking, have you had any of the tension or other problems that some reviewers/posters have commented on? I'm a bit scared to try my luck after reading some horror stories.

Thanks again....

I bought two machines off ebay in the last couple of years and they are wonderful. One is a basic Elna, nothing fancy, but what a little workhorse. I paid around 120.00 for it , which was a good deal.
Second, I bought a Brother Disney embroidery machine. It has lots of neat features and really nice built in stitches, that I use quite a bit. I haven't done much with the embroidery, but plan to. I paid in the 180.00 range for it. I had no problem with shipping and found the machines to be in excellent condition. I would shop for a machine on ebay again.

I've never had any problems with tension on either of my Vikings. I even used invisible thread on my first quilt with no problems. Once the tension is set correctly, it remains consistent. For normal sewing with cotton thread, the factory setting was fine. I needed to loosen it up for the invisible, which is not uncommon on all machines.

My pfaff dealer takes trade-ins, has them serviced and resells them, usually at a pretty good price, and she let's you trade in any brand, so don't be afraid to ask any local dealers about what they have in the used group. you can find something that will fit your needs.

Do you plan on using it for quilting large quilts? If so it is worth the price to get a machine with the deeper throat area. Makes a big difference when stuffing your quilt thru.
I have the Viking Sapphire 830 and it does everything I need and has the large throat area.
I just wish I could afford the embroidery machine that you can quilt designs in the blocks with.

Just to keep things interesting, I took a look at the Babylock Decorator's Choice today, priced at $799. It has needle up/down, start/stop, fix, thread cutter, knee lift, the works, and lots of decorative stitches/an alphabet. It has a slightly bigger throat, too.

I read some positive reviews of it, too.

I also got a chance to test out the Janome DC2010 and it worked well. It's computerized and has some good features but it lacks the "extras" (more decorative stitches, knee lift, etc)- though the price was right at under $400.

The Bernina Activa 210 was in the price range of the Babylock, around 799, but it's pretty bare bones! Nice construction though.

Hm, with the Babylock I'd get a machine I could grow into more, though still stay relatively within budget. Any more opinions?

Thanks everyone for your help!!