I had an Elna for almost 40 years that I bought in the 70's for about $300. About 5 years ago I decided to upgrade and bought a Janome 4900 Memory Craft. I finally had to send my beloved Elna to my daughter in San Diego so I would be forced to use my new machine! After so long with the same machine I knew every little bit and piece of that machine and was so comfortable with it. The new machine was a steep learning curve for me because the Elna was mechanical and the Janome is electronic. My daughter has strict instructions that the machine is to stay in the family. I love my "new" machine now but it was so hard in the beginning to stay away from my old friend. The Elna brand has always been very dependable and reliable. I had very few problems with my Elna through the years.