Jazznn--you ask a question about maintenance on a long arm. While it's important that you have a good tech support somewhere nearby (think 4-5 hour range at least), most of us that long arm do much of the "daily" maintenance or get a family member that does it. That usually involves oiling, cleaning out lint in the bobbin area (taking off the bobbin plat on occasion), etc. I've also timed, adjust needle bar height, switched out a power chip, switched out new electrical buttons for stop/start, changed the wheels; re-set encoder, etc. It helps if someone can help you with that. Definitely do some actual long arm quilting at a shop and ask to use both a manual and robotic set-up. I have a friend that due to health issues, went with a robotics model and loves it.