My friend and I both bought used Berninas. 1603s with the 1996 Update. She died and left me her sewing room including her Bernina and all the attachments she had collected for it.
My experience is that some Bernina dealers do not support older models for anything beyond cleaning and oiling and purchase of the wondrously expensive attachments. Asking a question as to how something works gets you a blank look or a very quiet spot over the phone. Yes, there are manuals; BUT, they are sometimes confusing and it takes time and effort to noodle out a workable bit of information. I was disappointed when I discovered the older model support issue. Figure it out myself is not always the way I want to go.
I would not trade my twins in for anything. They have all the features that current high end machines are currently touting and I can do service on them. They sew like crazy and do whatever I want them to. They are computerized BUT the computers (pcs) they can connect to, if so desired, are long out of production and the pcs operating systems long outmoded.
Forgive me for being so windy but I thought I had some info. that you hadn't had yet and, since I am also a self-taught sewer, I wondered if it might turn out helpful for you.
Good hunting!
P