I have an old singer (garage sale), my Bernina 830 (bought new in '75) and my "baby" Janome6600. They are all workhorses. Bought the new one couple years ago when we had no nearby service for the Bernina, and found out parts are no longer available, so she moved to "back up" and portable status. I have loved the features on the Janome: foot down, thread cutter, fairly big harp, and QUIET! I didn't know the noise I had been putting up with until I sewed a while on her!
Another consideration is proximity to dealer service- I love knowing I can run up and get questions answered and service without driving to Timbucktoo. (I watched my neighbor go thru that mess with a lemon of a machine, and got smart watching her!)