I got my 440QE in July of last year, gently used. I absolutely loved it! I didn't even want to go on vacation, because I wanted to stay home and sew..lol I splurged several weeks later and got the embroidery module and love it too! I made DH a quilt for Christmas and used the BSR to FMQ the entire thing. I really like the way it came out, though it was far from perfect as it was my first attempt at FMQ. I had none of the problems that a few on the board have mentioned, but my dealer is awesome and did talk me through a few caused by operator head space. ;-). Did think that I might like to upgrade eventually to a 640 so I could have 9mm fancy stitches, but wasn't planning on doing that for a while, but in March, went to the Lancaster, PA quilt show and was offered a fantastic deal on a 730E, and DH (my enabler) talked me into it. I was sorry to see my 440 go, but I got as much on trade in as I paid for it, and I have heard that she has been adopted out to a good home. lol
I don't think you can go wrong with the 440, but being that far away from a dealer is a little inconvenient as they should be serviced (cleaning, oiling, etc) at least once a year by a dealer, just as you would any expensive piece of machinery. I would definitely become friendly with the dealer and consider a used machine. They usually come with the remainder of the warranty and a demo model would come with a full warranty. Good luck.