I just bought a gently used Bernina 1260 for $450. The dealer said it was almost new and about had fit I bought it so cheap from the seller so bargains are out there. If you only want straight stitch the Brother 1500 is excellent for machine quilting. It has a long throat space and can be bought new for about $700. At that price you can have one machine for machine quilting and a fancy one that you find a great sale on later on.