The best bang-for-the-buck for personal use is to find a used machine from a reputable dealer close to you that offers training and service.
And every longarm and quilter are different - don't buy based on what you read on the Internet. Go and try as many as you can to get a feel for which are comfortable for you, which you can operated and feel relaxed, and which are intimidating and cause you to struggle. Try different size throats, too. Smaller-framed folks might not have the reach to comfortably use a deeper machine. Listen to the machines - they are louder than a home machine. Each brand sounds different, too.
It's just like buying a car. You need to research to find what fits you and your needs best by doing test drives, not by picking something solely based off price, and the dealer-relationship is a key part of this.
"Avoid future regret".