Many folks buy Bernettes for children, but if you can go to the Bernina 12 it is more than worth the extra bit of money. I don't know much about the older Bernina, but I am about to learn a LOT about the new ones. What I know so far is that they are under warranty for at least one year, and the dealer should have someone who knows how to fix a problem or be able to send it back to Bernina to be fixed. No reason to have one that doesn't work right.