I have a Janome 4000, can't begin to tell you when I bought it, just remember my Singer playing havoc with stitches and the dealer offered the upgrade to the Janome 4000, and actually discounted it the same price I paid for my Singer. I'm not telling you not to upgrade, but sometimes a trip to the dealer for a tune-up is worth the price. I just did that not too long ago and I don't regret it. I do have an older Brother machine as back-up plus a Kemore that was given to me free, but I need to save up some money to take it in for a check-up and a check. I cannot give you information about newer models of the Janome, but when I do upgrade it will most likely be another Janome, as I love it.