In my opinion, the first step is to determine which features you want in a machine. Figure out which are must-haves; would like; sky is the limit. Determine your budget. Let your fingers do some walking through the internet and see which machines seem to have the features you want. You probably won't get much in the way of pricing except those carried by say Walmart; Amazon. If you have 1 or more dealers local to you, go test drive the ones you think you might like. Take samples of YOUR fabrics; sandwiches; etc. Even home dec and garment stuff if you do that. You'll want to see how the various machines behave with YOUR fabrics - not their tiny little sample pieces. Get pricing from the dealer(s).
When I was machine shopping ages ago, I made up a spreadsheet of features. Having used a variety of machines over the years I had already determined the brand of machine I wanted. It was coming down to model/$$/features only. If I had been looking at a variety of manufacturers I would have been making notes along the way as to likes/dislikes.
Take your pricing and notes home and study it for a while. Don't let any dealer pressure you into 'buy it now for x but if you want to wait, it will be y'. Stick to your guns on budget. They'll give you the same pricing a couple of days (and most times weeks) later.
Searching for a machine can be as much of a process as is quilting. Do you want a machine that you'll grow into? Or one that simply fits your needs for the immediate future?
Probably more than you wanted to know about buying a machine. Hope it helps, though.