i'm a long-armer and have rented my machine on occassion- i require a 'certification class' which is a 4-hour class & costs $50 then i rent time for $20 an hour! this was how the shop did it when i first learned to use my machine (before purchasing) and that was 8 years ago- i still use her same prices...i live 1400 miles from the shop i bought my machine through.
so---the $8 an hour is a good deal- but it can take an hour just to get loaded - if it's a large quilt-
my machine is very picky about threads- i require you use the threads i have available- and order the colors a customer wants.
if you want to just 'try it out' to see if you like the process you could probably just go in & take the class that teaches you how to use the machine- & see if the process is fun or 'not your cup of tea' i've had customers who after certifying decided they would rather just make their tops & have me quilt them- and i've had other's who enjoy the process & do come in to do their own- i have one lady who tends to quilt very very densly-and i always have to plan ahead when she calls to use the machine- she sometimes ties up my machine for a week or more- and does not mind the hourly rate- spending hundreds of $$ to quilt her own quilt- which would not cost her that much if i did it for her- but she's happy with it...i just have to be caught up & know i won't be able to use my machine for a week or 2. anyway- you have questions to get answered & questions to ask yourself- starting with the beginning class to learn to use it in the first place....when i took my first class i was told you could easily quilt a queen sized quilt in 3-4 hours---i've been quilting for 9 years now- and still have never been able to do that! i spend anywhere from 5-15 hours quilting a quilt on a fairly normal basis.