The Juki alone is worth more than $500. It is a semi-industrial, straight stitch machine specifically made for quilters. Yes, it's a 9" throat but you can still get a lot of quilting done. I used a smidge smaller throat machine to quilt with for many years. You can do the same thing with it that others can do with their 16-18" machines--it just takes some ingenuity--needle down/roll, partial block designs, Max Throat add-on, etc. The Juki is a very popular machine so you'll easily be able to find others to discuss any issues that come up.