Buy second hand. That will reduce your costs significantly. I purchased a HQ 16, a frame and a pc quilter (computerized robot) 2nd hand and love it.
Like you, I was worried that I would spend big bucks and then not like the quilting. The price of the used set up raised my DHs eyebrows
, but compared to buying new it was cheap. It's also not top of the line, but the HQ16 works perfectly, the frame is fine for what I do, and the pc quilter works for me! In fact, without the pcquilter, I wouldn't have bothered getting the HQ16 and frame. My fibromyalgia will not let me do FMQ, but I can handle sandwiching, measuring and loading the quilt on the frame - just not all the same day.
I've done about 8 quilts so far and have enjoyed it. Mostly I do end to end meanders, but that is my choice. I'm thinking of taking a couple of my meander patterns and leaving an open space in them to let me customize the pattern by the quilt or the recipient. For instance, for a child who likes trucks, put a truck in the open space. For someone who likes fishing, put a fish in it.
Am I getting my moneys worth? Yes. If you make 5 or 6 quilts a year and had to send them out to longarm at an average of $200 per year, then you've spent $1,000. After a few years, you've made your money back. If you make more quilts, you make it back sooner. Charity quilts are easier to manage, because you don't have to figure out how to get them quilted for next to no cost.
I've taken no classes, but have done extensive reading and the PC Quilter manual is pretty good at explaining how it works, plus goes into how to load a quilt on the frame. Having said that, I'm very good at figuring things out and absolutely tenacious about it. No darn machine is going to defeat me! And every problem I've had were caused by 'pilot error'.
One word of warning...there is a reason that FMQ is so costly! It's hard work and it takes a lot of time! So be sure you have the time before investing in a longarm.