That's a good idea. I just found out how important the dealer is. I recently bought a Bernina 440 QE. Last Friday the feed dogs got stuck in the down position. I called the store and was informed that the technician needed to fix it. They suspected a bit of packing got lodged into the area. In order to NOT deprive me of my machine (which I had only 1 week), the tech met me near my home and switched out my stuck machine with a brand new one (out of the box). This saved my from having to make the half hour trip each way on Saturday morning. I was impressed.
So REALLY check out the dealer first. If you can't "connect" go to another place. There are so many good machines on the market you should be able to find one and a dealer you like.