I bought a Bernina 440QE once my baby left for college and I took up quilting seriously. I don't remember the cost but it was a couple of thousand dollars 9 years ago - a lot of money for us. But, it had the features I knew I wanted; needle up/down, needle position, able to adjust pressure on presser foot, good free-motion tension, knee controller for presser foot up/down. I tried out all of the major high end brands and I just liked the "feel" and sound of the 440QE. It is a quite, precise, and reliable machine.
Since that time, I now own 17 more machines (mostly treadles and vintage Singers). I like them and use them most of the time since they do a great job at what I usually do - sew a straight stitch. However, I just mentioned to my cousin this week that as much as I like my vintage machines, if I had to keep only one machine it would be my TOL 440QE. I think that it was well worth the cost since it can "do it all". I am still happy with it and have no desire to trade up.