I also bought the L-500 when it was the Today's Special and I really like mine. Yes, it does have a problem with the thread cutter that I should probably get fixed, but that isn't a big issue for me. My machine is actually pretty quiet and sews nicely. I have some other TOL machines and I feel that this machine holds its own quite well and is good value for the money.
There is definitely a learning curve, however, as the threading, bobbin etc. operate quite a bit differently from most of my previous machines.