Originally Posted by
debbiemarie
I would love to get a Bernina with the BSR, the new ones are a lot of $$$. What about the older ones? Which ones is the best for quilting?
I can tell you from experience that all the Berninas are great machines! I've used my model 930 from 1985 to do lots of straight line quilting -- just slip on the walking foot and I'm off to the races. The model 830 Record was great for quilting too and they are easier to find because there were more of them made than the 930. Both of them are mechanical models (not computerized) but they contain cams which give you a wide variety of stitches. Although I have never done any FMQ with them (I have a wooonderful Singer 15 for that), you can drop the feed dogs on both of them to do FMQ. With their vertical bobbins it should be easy ... after a fair amount of practice. As with anything else in life, practice makes perfect!
My preference is for the mechanical models, but that being said, there are plenty of older computerized models (1230, 1260) which are great for quilting too. If I were you, as JABC said, I'd start at my local Bernina dealer and ask him to test drive his trade ins. They are usually happy to help you that way.
The first pic below is an 830Record and the fuzzy one is a 930.
So, whatever you finally decide on, be sure to let us know and post a pic!