Well i love My Janomes. I would make sure that she is able to transfer designs from her PC to the machine via USB stick. My Janome 9700 is old school. The newer mdels Use USB.
I would check out all of the manufacturers websites to compare models. They will not tell you prices though. Head to
www.patternreview.com and check out the embroidery machine reviews. They will often share the price paid but use this as general info. You will negotate the final price you will pay unless you finance the purchase, most likely.
Another avenue for checking out the MSRP price is to do a search on Ebay. Use this as a guide too. They only publish the manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) on ebay if new. Your final price should not be MSRP if you pay cash. Again, you negotiate.
By the way, the new machines listed on Ebay are bid on....check out the target price which is the "buy it now" price in small print under the current bid price
You will get many replies on favorite brands but it is a personal decision. Do a search on ths Board too. There a wealth of info in the arhives.
Keep a file on the models interested in and take lots of notes, ask questions.
One thing that I thought was important was the number of built in designs....it was not. I never use my built in embroidery designs . Fr me, a large hoop is not important. 5x7 s the max I use. It takes time to embroider. If the design takes more than 45 minutes, I dont do it. 45 minutes of stitching time transates into over an hour taking into consideration thread changes. I mostly do designs on tees ad polo shirts. I mostly sew on my machine.
Seems like a lot of work? You betcha! But so worth being informed before you show up at the dealer.
Sandy