Weezie, if your 17-year old machine is still working, or can be repaired, and has zig-zag stitch, you could go for a straight-stitch only quilting machine such as the Juki TL2010Q, or newer TL2200Mini. You won't go wrong. I've had the TL2010Q for three years now, and am still amazed at the quality of that machine.
However, if your current machine is really "dead", then you'll probably want a machine to do both general sewing and quilting.