My blue ribbon winning quilting buddy quilts on her Janome 6600. We (Bernina owners) love our machines but are envious of her fancy stitches, they are sew/so much nicer than our Bernina fancy stitches. I have a wonderful Bernina dealer, wouldn't trade her for the world, the Janome dealer, on the other hand is a real jerk, for that reason, I couldn't go with a Janome. As stated many times, both machines are great, but I agree, the dealer can make the world of difference.