Advice requested on buying a used longarm
Hello,
I would like your advice. I have the opportunity to buy a used Handi Quilter Simply Sixteen with a Studio 2 frame for $4,200. The sellers state that it was purchased two years ago and that it was used for less than 10 quilts. They are selling because they have moved to a smaller house and have no room for it, and the machine is not set up to test.
Does this seem like a reasonable purchase? Is there anything I need to watch out for?
About me: I’m an occasional quilter (piecing since 2013, total number of quilts actually finished is 12). I have been renting time on an APQS Millie with QuiltPath to quilt 3 quilts this year. (Yay!) However, the rental location is a 2-hour round trip from me so I’m considering having my own longarm. Of course, budget is a significant consideration, and I’m not sure if I will actually like having my own longarm, so I’m not willing to sink many thousands of dollars into this purchase. I will only be making baby and throw/lap size quilts for myself, friends, and charity, and will probably do 5-10 a year. I have no experience yet with free motion quilting, but I will be going to a friend’s tomorrow to try out her longarm setup and FMQ. I have played a little with ruler work on my regular sewing machine. I do have a spare bedroom for the machine.
Thanks very much for any advice or guidance!