Before you go into a dealership have a firm $$$ in mind and stand your ground. They should be able to find something in your price range. That' s how I bought my Viking.

As to questions: an "oldie" will ask the same questions as a "newbie". If they make you feel bad turn and walk out - they do not deserve your money or time.

My last two machines were Brothers....and I love them....
DO NOT BE INTIMINATED by your local sewing center, a 'Good one' will make you feel comfortable, if they don't then it is their lose and walk away......You can find a nice, good well priced trade-in at a decent sewing center. Its kinda like a used car where all the bugs have been worked out....I think perhaps the most important thing to you should be if they (sewing center) will include sewing lessons with the price and the service they will provide in the future for that machine.

I have the same machine that I bought about 8 years ago. It is inexpensive Singer 5050. It does not have needle down but you can always turn the hand wheel and put it down. It has many stitches of which I use two. It has a bobbin winderer and takes many singer model bobbins without any issue. It gulps any thread I throw at it and is compatible with Japanese made no-name feet sold by Joann's which are about half price than original Singer. It is mindnumbingly easy to clean and maintain by yourself. The motor is in metal housing. They are still sold today and they are workhorses. I quilt queen size quilts on it, but that is maximum. I do lots of Fmq and I also make clothing. If I were you I would not worry about 1/4" seam just yet but I would work on the consistency of the seam width. For example, the width of the regular Singer sewing foot is a smidgen bigger than 1/4". Most of my quilts are my design so I pretty much ignore the 1/4" rule but I am very consistent with the seam width. When I need to work off a pattern I mark my 1/4 inch with a stack of post it's or similar and off I go. I can recommend you Singer 5050 because it will give you lots of bang for your buck. I believe this model is still about $200. Good luck!

I have owned the Singer Confidence for 3 years and I love it for FMQ.

I would go with the brother. You don't need to spend tons of money!! Also check out your local repair store, I bought a refurbished brother for $40.00. Works great and I carry it to classes

I too would love those options , I still sew on my 30 some year old kenmore and my antique 15-91 singer . I do like the machines I see Elanor Burns use , Baby lock brand . If I ever had the money for a new machine I would check them out but probably still wouldn't spend as much as they are asking lol.

I too am a newbie and after much consideration and research I ended up buying the Singer Confidence. I just started quilting in March on my old Kenmore which was good, but I wanted to get something with a few more features so I could FMQ at home (would really love to be able to afford a long arm!). Anyway I got it in June and have sewn about 6 toppers with it, haven't actually tried fmq, but an planning on experimenting this weekend to catch myself up. While I have only had it a few months, it has been very good to me!

I have that exact Brother machine and love love, did I say love it. I have had the opprotunity to sew on some of my friends Berninas, Janomes, and a Pfaff. Yes, they make you giddy since they are some of the upper end machines. Even after trying those out I still prefer the CS 6000i. The only problems I have had with her has been due to my own error and not the machines. They are great. I too was a newbie and looking for a resonable priced machine to start off with. Now that I have this one I dont think I will upgrade as I initially thought. This machine does everything I want for quilting except embroidery but that is a different story. So with that said get what youre comfortable with and dont worry about it.

The reviews for the Singer are not positive, lots of complaints. The reviews for the brother are good. People seem quite happy with that machine. I always check many reviews, before I buy anything that will cost quite a bit.

Take someone with you and make a day of it. Other people always catch things that I don't, when I go shopping for something expensive. I love my Janome 6600, but it is a lot more expensive than you are looking for. I would still go with the Brother, not the Singer.