If you want a true "long arm" and have limited funds, I would suggest scouring Craigslist for awhile. I found several around $1000, though the first 2 I contacted were gone by the time I found them. The 3rd was the charm apparently, and the right one for me. It's a starter machine, no bells and whistles, but just what I wanted. It's a WOW Quilting machine, made in Oklahoma, and they take old Singer 201 machines and stretch them into long arms. Good ol' workhorses of machines. Here's a link to explain more.
http://www.wowquilts.com/page_one.htm If you can find a used one of these, or perhaps a Homesteader (which is a stretched Singer 15 from another company, here's their link -
http://www.candlewoodquilts.com/content/12-homesteader ), it's a great start. Have fun in your search, and luck in finding the perfect machine....