I don't have those Vikings but have 3 others, the Mega quilter, Viking #1, the Ruby. They are all great machines and built to last. There are a few reasons to buy from a dealer/LQS if you can; normally they have free financing, free classes and you get great support so that when one of those crazy things happens you can call someone who knows what is going on and get an answer or someone to help trouble shoot the problems. You can't go wrong with a Viking. My Ruby isn't that old but It's made just as well as the Viking #1 that was built in 1994; it's heavy so I don't take it to class unless it's learning to do more with that machine and not regualar classes. Good luck.