I love my Diamond - bought from a trusted well-respected dealer. I got a fair price and always have access to help if I have a question. I have had it for a year and find that it is very user friendly. Happy shopping!

You're right - it's frustrating trying to find pricing. I had the same problem before I bought my Bernina. I finally went to a dealer where I bought my first Bernina and our local quilt shop where I had taken lessons and compared prices and other things. I finally bought mine from the LQS.

The Viking Diamond sold in Alaska for around $9,000 -- I have a Viking Ruby and Designer 1 but if I was looking at another machine for the price I would go with the Pfaff machines. They now have a tension monitor that monitors the threads and sets the tension for each thread plus they have the IDT--the foot that works like a walking foot already built onto the machine. JMHO

You can buy a new one for $6,300 to $6,500.

The Diamond is no long manufactured. The Diamond Deluxe replaced it. The major difference between the Diamond and the Diamond Deluxe is that the Deluxe has thread portioning. The Diamond had an update that brought it up to par with the Deluxe except for the thread portioning system, which of course could not be updated. There may be a few small differences, but that is the major one. I have had the Diamond for three and one half years. I love it, but at this time because Viking gave us an update (which updates are free, I might add), I couldn't justify the difference to trade just for the thread portioning (which I think would be great). I think you could expect to pay between $8500 to $10000, depending on your dealer, packages, and specials that Viking might be offering at the time. 5D Embroidery software is the newest software, which I love.

The last time I checked the price was much higher but every dealer has their own price. I stopped upgrading as it just became to expensive. It seemed like every time I turned around I was replacing boards on different brands of machines. I really like the older all metal machines. I've had them for years and not one problem with them. They just keep on ticking.

This thread got me to thinking. Why am I so reluctant to spend $10,000 on a sewing machine, when I spend more than that on a car? I keep a car 3-5 years. I keep a good sewing machine 10 years, or longer if it is still working. All of a sudden the price of a long arm seems reasonable.

But I agree that prices of machines should not be such huge secrets. Auto manufacturers advertise the "list" price of cars and dealers still add their mark ups and sell cars. Sewing machine manufacturers could easily do the same.

I agree with you here. It is hard to comparison shop on these upper end machines on the internet because people don't want to openly quote a price. I don't know why since you can find other things, far more expensive, with prices on the internet (think cars)... All it does to me is make me wonder what the profit margin is that they don't want to quote any prices. It is hard to get any idea at all sometimes. Most of us don't care what their profit margin is, but in order to make a decent decision, we need information. Sitting at home peacefully in your chair is far less stress than in a dealer's office where things can get a bit stressful with a face to face sales pitch.

Can you call and ask the company what the recommended price is?

I spoke with my Viking dealer about 3 weeks ago....and if I wanted the Diamond w/5d basic I could get it for about $9,500. If I wanted to buy the Diamond with the 5D and trade in my Rose (which I LOVE)...I could have it for about $7, 100.

I think it was 36-48 months same as cash financing.....

I have the Rose and the D1.....and I love both of these machines....the extra large hoop is what appeals to me for the Daimond...not sure that justifys the expense...

anyway good luck...I really love my vikings.