Originally Posted by
Stitchnripper
Don't discount the Brother machines. You can go from very low end to one with bells and whistles with everything in between.
I agree. For those who might not know, Babylock and Brother are made by the same company. I talked to a dealer about this (they sell both) and there are a few slight differences between but she said Brother has a better warranty. Ex. if you have a problem with Babylock and it's under warranty, they want to send the machine part back to the factory for evaluation (meaning you're without your machine for some time). Brother will simply instruct the dealer the replace the part "then" send it back to the factory.
Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE my Babylock machines (have the Esante, Symphony and Enlighten Serger). They have all served me well so far. My Esante (being the oldest) has only been to the shop once for cleaning and replace the bobbin case.
I have recently added a basic Brother machine for classes, etc. and just as pleased with it.
Just visit a few shops and check out the different machines. Write down what you want from the machine, what your budget is, and actually sew at it -- not just let them demo it for you.
Have fun shopping for your new baby....