I see that several people have recommended finding a good dealer. It's true that a dealer can be very helpful. However, it's important to understand that dealerships go out of business, sell to other owners, etc. Buying from a dealership is no guarantee that they will be around later when you have a problem. I purchased my Bernina 1230 from a dealer who went out of business a year later. Servicing is not an issue because there are other places I can take the machine for servicing by Bernina techs. I think most machines are like that; you can get them serviced elsewhere.