I had an Elna that I traded in at my Bernina Dealer. I thought the difference was very noticable. I have the Bernina 440QE. Dealer is so important. I went about an hour away when I had another dearer right across town. My dealer has been there quite awhile and are incredibly knowledgable. One thing that had to be fixed was a new power supply. Probably caused by a flucation in power. It is a computer, after all. Suggest surge protector. I'm not sure what is in the 550QE package. Mine came with the quilters foot, BSR and walking foot in addition to the 'normal' sewing feet. I just found out there is a sole plate for the walking foot available that is for Stitch in the Ditch. You might want to be sure they are including that. My dealer does not want her customers to mess with the tension screw in the bobbin case. I was going to, finally, buy the extra case because I agree, I didn't want to mess up my original. They brought out a bobbin case with a black tab. It is speciffically made to play with your tension when using spciality threads and about half the cost! I was asked what its primary use would be. I answered King Tut thread top and bottom. He took it back and adjusted the screw to set it up for me! 1 last thing. Be really prepared when you go to test drive. Bring specific fabrics and threads and batting that you use and a plan of stitching you want to check out. Take your time. It is easy to get distracted on the sales floor. Happy shopping! BTW did I mention my dealer happens to have the best quilt store around!
