I bought my sewing machine in January 2013 sight unseen, only having researched online, as I was just starting to learn to quilt and had never used a machine before. It's a Janome Magnolia 7318, and I paid $250 for it plus a few extra feet and accessories. I got a generic walking foot and darning foot ($15 each?) a couple months later when I realized I needed them and I've fmq'd up to a queen size quilt on it. It has a 4.5in throat, is not computerized, can drop feed dogs, roughly 18 decorative stitches?, and I've used all different kinds of thread without complaint. I'm now doing some free motion embroidery with a small hoop on it too! So it's been a good machine for me
I wasn't ready to invest a ton of money into something I wasn't sure I'd stick with, but I'm pretty bitten now so we'll see! It does not have the needle down function, but I'm in the habit of turning the handwheel to put it down anyway so it's fine for now.