If you want quality but are worried about cost, first of all, know for certain what it is you are aiming towards. Go to the dealers, try out the machines, and I mean spend an hour or two on the machines you are interested in buying. Find out if this is really what you want, or if the price tag or name is calling to you. Make a list of the features that you decide you can't live without, and then the machines that have those features. Then you have a choice to make. You can either buy new, or you can look for a good used machine with those features. I went the latter route. I got every feature I wanted, and then some. But in the bargain, I picked up an essentially new (used for 3 hours) Janome 6700 for $800 when the same machine from the dealer was selling for $3,400. All I had to do was get it cleaned and oiled because it had sat around so long (3 years) the oil was tacky. But the insides were spotless - not even a speck of dust. Yes it does embroidery, and I'm not interested in that. It also quilts and pieces like a dream, and it's a real workhorse, and I love, love, love it! By the way, I bought it because the cheap machine I had died after only 8 months. The needle went right through the cheap bobbin case. It would cost more to fix it than it cost to buy the machine. On the other hand, the service tech who cleaned my Janome said he's worked as a sewing machine repair person for over 15 years, and he never sees my model of Janome come in for anything except routine cleaning and oiling. So you have to think of repair bills as well.
So the gist is: just make sure you really want what you're going for, and then it's your choice to either buy new or used. Do that, and there'll be no regrets.