I was all for buying a used sewing machine from someone out of state but my husband convinced me the warranty adn the servicing are of great importance. A friend is investigating a longarm and the service provided or finding a service person locally is of great importance. She has narrowed it down to two brands because of the servicing issue. She also interviewed them to find out their opinion of various machines and repairability.
So I would go with a local company IF they provide good service and help. (there are a few dealers out there that are clueless about service both customer and technical.)