I think longarms have made major improvements in the last 14 years. However, so have sewing machines, and yet many people love to sew on their vintage machines. APQS has always been a quality longarm, but you may find that the older machine doesn't have some of the features you would like, or that it is harder to maintain than a newer one. Still, if it's a great price...
For a major purchase, why can't you drive 2 hours, test the machine out as much as possible (take the materials to test it on), and then drive home and sleep on it if you're not sure? When we purchased my longarm, we first drove over 6 hours to see it, then drove home and thought about it, called up the dealer and arranged the purchase, for which we drove back, spent several days getting trained, and then drove home with the longarm in our pickup (poles hanging out the back!) (I realize driving 2 hours in Ohio may be more difficult in the winter.)