Hard lessons learned the hard way
I had a Bernina 440. I liked it pretty well and it was great for piecing. I wanted to upgrade to the 580 for the newer features. I got talked into an 830 and I hated it....picky, pricey, and uber sensitive to any stray threads. (you don't ever want to experience the gears of death, trust me on this.) I decided it was over engineered to the point of uselessness. The dealer was hours away over the mountains. I decided to go with the only local dealer, Viking & Babylock. I bought a Viking Ruby which I think on the same level as the 580 and I like it ok, the free motion is not as easy as I would like and yes it is a bit thread picky. I sold my 830 on Ebay and took quite a bath financially but I did manage to make enough to pay for the Ruby. I see the Ebay market it sort of inundated with the upscale 830 so I don't think I am the only disillusioned one. I have a great Brother Inovise 1000 that is used as much as the Ruby and does a great free-motion quilting on large quilts. It is not so much my backup as my co-machine. Between the two we get things done. I also have my old Bernina 830 Record which is in semi retirement but will be used from time to time. It is my true backup as I will never sell it. If I only have to have one machine that would be the one. Full disclosure I do have a Babylock serger and I like it very much I just don't do a lot of serger sewing.
I think now I am done with buying upscale machines. I will just stick with what I have and be happy. I found I need to reset some default settings on the Ruby to meet my needs at the start of the sewing day to make my session more successful but it has gotten to be my habit so it is not cumbersome.
One thing I would tell the makers of drop in bobbins.....There should be only ONE right way to replace the bobbin housing after a cleaning, not three or four almost but not quite right ways. Something you have to discover after reassembly and attempted stitching. It is so frustrating and usually takes me three or four attempts to get it minusculey just right. Just a thought for the manufacturers. I am not going to be any more trading up or down of machines, at least in the next decade or so.