I have a Brother SQ9000, not the most expensive machine avalible and yes mass produced, but what I can afford. I would love to afford one of the high end machines with all the bells and whistles or even one without all the bells and whistles, but I make do with what I have. It sews just fine for what i'm doing. Around here it seems at the LQS the average class is about $50 or so. To me that isn't a bad price for someone sharing their knowledge and showing you how to do something.
When I posted a topic recently about my Brother locking up when I got a thread jam and I kinda apologized for the machine not being the best, someone told me to never apologize for my equipment. So I won't anymore.
If your machine does what you want it to do, gives you features you like then enjoy it and make many lovely quilts with it. If others can't deal with that, then it's on them.