I would love to learn about long arm machines. How do you figure out what ones are the best for your money and how do you learn how to work them if you buy one second hand.
I'm have come across used ones, but not knowing about
them I wouldn't know what to ask and if it was a good deal or not.

If and when I'm able to purchase one I would have to buy used.
But I would like to make sure that I would enjoy using one.

There is no one around close to me that teaches long arm.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

You should do a search of this question on this site.
Several times a week someone asks about this.

Just type in LAQ or Long arm quilting...

best wishes

Your best bet is to go to quilt shows and test drive every machine there.

Is there a local sewing machine shop near you? Thats where I found my HQ16. After I saw it being demo-ed I went shopping to see if any other sewing machine/fabric shop carried any and then I soon found the pros and cons about them. Personally I took the local store, just incase you had trouble with it. Being a used one, I would hope the person who you would be buying it from would be able to show you how it works and maybe she would be able to help you in the future. If that person can't,(can't remember, or deceased.) then maybe you could google the company of the machine and see if they have any videos on it and also you tube it. Hope this helps.

I agree!!! Each person is different and like different machines. You really should find a show by you and try them all out. That is what I did. You can spend the time finding out from them about the machines and any questions you have, they can answer them.
It is also so much fun going from machine to machine trying them all out. You will see that they are all very different.

what i did is i went on the internet and look at the quilters and than i printed out what the quilter had and the price, than i sat down and compared them. some i threw out becuase of the price . some i didnt like the frame. throat size was important to me . i ended up with a tin lizy 18 i was lucky and got a good deal when they stoping making them 18. plus i had also looked at some in shops to.

i bought mine used.

i went to the big quilt shows and tried them out. decided which one fit my budget and my desires/needs.

i got the grace pinnacle used from craigs list with all the extras it retailed for $3000 and i paid $600.

then i purchased my machine new since i didn't want to deal with the wear and tear from some one else.