Originally Posted by PatriceJ
ist the features and factors that are important to you. then get the one that meets all or the most of those criteria within your budget. if the one you really want is outside your budget, save up some more. ;-)
Alternatively, look for a gently used one! I am really lucky to have a great Bernina store that is run by Mennonites not very far away. They take most any model on trades, so sometimes will have really nice used machines.
Also, there is a yahoo group, "Sewitsforsale" that has machines listed several times a week. That's where I got my Janome Plantinum, for about half what I would have had to pay new.