you really need to base your decision on a lot of things that have nothing to do with final cost...service should be a big decision maker...where are you going to take the machine for service? where are you going to turn for tech help? you should try to find shops within reasonable travel distance where you can try out different machines/ brands and functions. most long arms are basically the same...a large straight stitch machine. beyond that changes can be vast. do you want to upgrade later? do you need/want a stitch regulater? the 'cheap' machine may not offer any options/upgrades...
you may find one 'on-line or advertised somewhere, decide that is the best price you have seen, that's the one you want, then get it home to find there is no customer support around, and you HATE IT...you probably would not buy a car without at least a test drive...long-arms cost as much as buying a car...so test drive before you buy!!!
i would never recommend a person to purchase anything that cost's over $1000 (as far as i know about the cheapest long-arms start around $6500) without trying it out and make sure this is what you want and it will do what you want it to do.
all that being said...i bought mine while on vacation in Florida...i did try it out, and took a class with the machine, then ordered one from the manufacturer. it was shipped to me from Utah, to Michigan...all of this was good right up till i set it up and had a heck of a time with tension issues (it got 'bumped around' during shipping) and found there was no where within 200 miles to take it or get any help. i finally had to trouble shoot long distance with support in Utah. they have been great helping me over the past few years but it would sure be better if there was somewhere around me to get service done.