I would only buy from a DEALER not a DISTRIBUTER. Dealers give free lessons. You may pay a lower price to a distributer, but you won't get the lessons you need to learn how to use your new machine.
As far as which machine to buy, I'm a Pfaff person - mainly because of the built-in walking foot. No need to attach one. You can use ALL the fancy stitches with it. It's worth its weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. When I walked into the dealership, which was a Viking AND Pfaff dealership, I thought I was going to buy another Viking, because I loved my old Viking, but I needed a NEW one. It only took a demo of the IDF to change my mind - it's the perfect thing for a piecer/quilter. That began a LONG relationship with that dealer in Tucson. I've bought 4D software and 2 more Pfaffs from them - an embroidery machine & a serger. And I've taken MANY classes.