I agree with feline fanatic about the Innova vs the Gammill.
Regarding just going with what your husband wants to buy for you, I have to disagree with many of the previous posters. It is not a good idea to purchase a setup that costs so much you feel obligated to use it. Honestly, I think you need to do a ***lot*** more research and take your time before deciding what kind of setup you want. Longarm mistakes are costly, especially when you are buying new rather than used. It's true that Gammill probably has a better resale value than Bernina, but that doesn't mean the resale value is good. I would expect a used Gammill to sell for about half the price you pay for it new. Innova retains better value on resale, but you would still lose at least a quarter of your investment even if you live in a metropolitan area with more buyers. (You lose more if you live in a rural area.)
There are a number of quilting groups on Yahoo (go to groups.yahoo.com to find them). Why not join a few of those groups and ask some questions? I'm sure if you join the Gammill group, most of the responses will be positive about Gammill. I remember awhile back on one of the Innova groups there was a thread in which a number of people compared their previous machines (including Gammill, Nolting, and others) to their current Innova. All of them preferred the Innova. ***All** setups have pros and cons, and having a dealer within an hour's drive is no guarantee that you will have a good experience with a purchase from them.
So you can get an idea of used longarm prices, here is a link to an online site:
http://www.longarmuniversity.com/MachinesForSale.html
Just realize that these are all *asking* prices. Many of them may take a long time to sell and/or sell for less than what is being asked. Notice that Innova's are few and far-between compared to other brands. This is because people tend to want to keep them.
Finally, I just want to mention a thread on one of the Yahoo groups that struck a chord with me. It was about quilters who had purchased a longarm setup and then were too intimidated to use it. Some of these setups were brand new. I was amazed at the number of quilters who were willing to admit it, but comforted that I was not the only one to feel intimidated by these things.
In my case, I decided to buy a relatively inexpensive used setup so I could find out if I would really like it and use it, or whether it would become just another household item to be dusted periodically. I settled on a Voyager 17 with Hinterberg frame bought from a fellow quilt guild member who was upgrading. A fellow QB member found a setup like this locally, including stitch regulator, for $2,500. Mine was more in the neighborhood of $3,500 with stitch regulator.
My "dream" machine is an Innova, and my dh would even go along with that purchase if I asked; however, I just don't want to spend that much money. I don't want to quilt for other people, and I don't want to feel guilty about not using the machine if I move on to other interests for awhile. I would probably buy a used Innova setup (one just came up for sale not too far from me on one of the Innova groups) ***if*** we weren't getting our house ready for sale.
Sorry to go on for so long! I just wanted to point out that a 10' frame and 26" machine isn't necessarily better than an 8' frame and 18" machine. You may be better off waiting, especially if you don't ***need*** to make a decision right now.