I'm really surprised at the complaints about Janome. Usually when someone on the QB asks what sewing machine to get, the Janome gets rave reviews on this board.
Here's my suggestion - get an inexpensive Brother machine. I have 3 of them, varying degrees of complexity/features, and have had no trouble with them at all. I had a 4th one, but it fell and broke while being lugged around when we were on vacation. Unfortunately, it couldn't be fixed.