What I like about the Singer 404.
It just does straight stitch - single needle hole.
It has a slant needle - less straining your neck trying to see what you are doing.
It has a class 66 bobbin - bigger bobbin = more thread
It has a front thread needle position - easier to thread and keep track of which way it goes.
The bobbin area is easy to clean thread nests.
All that adds up to better especially for beginning sewists.
If all you are worried about is free motion quilting, find a Singer 15 or a clone and set it up to do just only free motion - then you don't have reset your machine.