I purchased a Bernina 830 about 3 years ago with some inheritance $$$ from my mother, who instilled my love for sewing. I have been sooo disappointed
I was always a big Bernina booster, always had one as my main machine. I wanted to upgrade my 440 to one with more bells and whistles, so I took the plunge and got the 830. Boy was I disappointed, it was a thread picky, overly sensitive diva as a machine. The dealer was half a day away over some mountains so getting there was a long day indeed. Sometimes it is not user error or lack of expertise some times it is just poor/over engineered design. After lots of trips over for classes, adjustments, I took it home and sewing on it was a steady exercise in turning off features until I just would dread sewing on it at all. For as much money as I spent on it and the fact it was a Bernina I expected a better sewing machine. I sold it on E bay, took a loss but gained enough to buy a Viking Ruby Deluxe from a local dealer. I also have a Brother Innovis that is about 5yrs old. The Viking is great for piecing and embroidery but for free motion quilting I find it a bit clunky. The brother works great for piecing and free motion so between them we get them done and the dealer is local so no more over the mountain trips. For a replacement I would say Babylock, Brother, Viking high end or some where in the middle. Find a dealer and really check out all the machine, bring your own project to sew on not the over-starched denim the dealer uses, and your favorite thread to see how well each works for you. I do miss the large 11" harp but I get by with my paltry 9". Lately I have been looking at the Babylock Crescendo as it has the large harp and a even-feed feature. I does not have embroidery but I find I use embroidery much less than I thought I would so the Viking can go in a space and be just for that if I choose to add yet one more machine to the mix.
As a side note...I keep asking myself "just how many machines does a woman need.....but then when has it ever been about need only just want"
Before you go anywhere, check out E-bay to see what machines are reselling for, right now there are a lot of 830s out there for about half of what they sold for retail. It is a good place to check out what kinds of machines are out there at what relative re-sale values