What I did was research and figure out the budget! I made a spreadsheet of all things I need then want, and listed all info from the sewing machines websites (Brother, Baby Lock, Bernina, Janome, Juki, Viking, Pfaff) and prices. Compared the models I was interested in, visited the dealers and test drove some. Looked at the reviews, used ebay and internet dealers for price reference. and two months later got my first choice! My boyfriend was with me, he chatted with the owner while I test drove it and he liked the atmosphere of the store so much we walked out with the Baby Lock Espire! It is way out of my price range, so I'm making payments on it to him! I still have the spreadsheet if you're interested PM me and I can email you. Oh, if I didn't get this, I would have gotten the Brother NX 600 from ebay and would of made an offer to the seller (listing was I think $849 or best offer).