I bought a bernina from an out of town dealer who was no longer selling bernina's. I got a really good deal, and I've been able to get service from a more local dealer. The only downside, for the mastery classes, I had to pay for them out of pocket. However, paying for the classes was a lot cheaper than buying a Bernina at full price at my local dealer. In all honesty, I didn't look at buying a bernina at my local dealer, because I was pretty sure I couldn't afford one there. The classes were well worth what I paid, and after one service call for cleaning and such, she sings like a bird, and sews wonderfully.