Before I bought my first Bernie 830 back in the 1990s, I called John Flynn (Flynn Quilting Frame) to ask his opinion on price. I had heard him tell my class that he did the majority of his machine quilting (at that time) on his 830. I then bought one for slightly less than he told me I might have to pay....$550. I have bought and sold several since then, for other people, and always found them to be around the same price. I lived in Ft. Worth/Dallas TX at the time.
The more I looked for them, the more I came to realize that they are indeed a collector's gem like the Featherweight. I used 2 for classes in my shop and told wary customers that it was definitely okay to use them because they were truly work horses! I often recommend them as a first sewing machine when someone wants to buy "a good used sewing machine".
They are solid metal, no plastic. You can do a lot of the maintenance yourself with the top of the machine that opens. It's heavy as heck and the red plastic "suitcase" carrier is bulky, but I'd rather drag my Bernie 830 around to classes any time than a sensitive, mother-boarded, computerized, plastic-encased machine.
As a matter of fact, I even bought the later 1990s version, the 1031, and they are virtually identical in stitch and function. I'm a major fan!
Don't sell yourself short!