umm...that is a tough one. I have Vikings and Bernina's and I firmly believe having a tech within driving distance is very important especially with the computerized machines. I have a Viking Topaz 40 which I paid under $2000 brand new. The Viking tech in my area is very knowledgeable and will work on several different brand machines. I switched over to Bernina basically because I wanted a sit down machine with a stitch regulator for free motion when they first came out (got a Bernina 440 then traded her in for the 630, then traded that one after a lot of years for a 570 which I do believe was a lemon and after much frustration, traded that one in for a 590 which I am loving but is not a machine you an just sit down and stitch because you have to learn how to run it. However, I don't have much faith in the owner of the Bernina dealership around here who also sells Janome which it is very apparent she is more interested in. The tech seems to be OK but is relatively new to the Bernina line. Back to the Vikings, I have had several of the older ones including the 500, Viking D1, Viking SE all of which I loved. The 500 I gave away and as far as I know it is still running great, the SE I also gave away as I just loved the D1 too much, and the D1's screen finally went belly up after at least 20 years. So, I bought the Viking topaz 40 when I was having all the problems with my Bernina 570 but now that I have the Bernina 590, I am using mostly that machine. I think I would consider another Viking at this point because I trust the Tech there. I would never buy an expensive computerized machine online because I do believe that it is a very good idea to have a troubleshooter nearby. I think I would consider other brands if there were those types of techs nearby. I also believe that the older basic machines will have a longer life then the newer computerized ones as they are basically computers, and we all know computers have a limited lifespan.