I have the Brother 1500 and it's great. Be sure and oil it a lot. I have taken it apart several times to clean it and it's so simple to clean. Not much to go wrong with it mechanical wise. One time a pin fell in the space where the reverse switch is, it was the only way it could have gotten in the machine. I took the bottom off and there was the pin, that was causing my problem. One time the bobbin winder wouldn't work, I took the top off and found the problem by sight.