The 301 is a nice machine, but the slant needle reduces the piercing power compared to a vertical needle, and needle deflection is actually built in to the slant design.
I would much rather buy a 15-91 or even a 201 because they've got the vertical needle and they're both good free-motion quilting machines.
My 301 is downstairs in a cabinet that rarely gets opened. One of my 15's is my main machine and one of my 201's is set up as a portable in a case on the end of my worktable so that I can piece on one machine and quilt on the other. :)
The huge open area under the arm of these two machines makes quilting large quilts much easier than it is with most modern domestic sewing machines. The 15-91's bobbin holds around twice as much thread as the 301.
The 201's bobbin holds about the same amount of thread as the 301's, but the vertical needle gives it more piercing power when crossing seams and it seems to handle FMQ just as well as the 301. It's also very, very quiet.
Personally, I would hold out for a 15-91. :)