I agree with all the statements.... Get the one you want, for everything you have done for everyone else you deserve a nice treat. I had the same dilemma when I bought my new machine in January.

It would'nt hurt to take a look at the Juki f600 either..... http://www.juki.co.jp/household_en/hsm/hzlf600.html
It has almost all the bells and whistles of the higher end machines without the price tag. I played on a Viking 960Q and a 580 Bernina before I went with the Juki; it is quitier then either of them and I prefer the way it feels most of all.

Just wanted to give you a different lower price option that you may not have known about. If I guessed your location well enough, it looks like there are a few dealers in your area. (Sorry to be stalker-y) http://www.jukihome.com/dealerlocator/wheretobuy.htm

I feel if is something you can afford you will regret not buying it every time you start to sew. I did not buy one I wanted about five years ago only because I am to tight and have regretted it. Already in my seventy's I felt I would not get that much use from it. Now I realize the joy I would have got from it far out weighs the time I have to use it.

If you can afford it, get it. You will never be sorry!

I say buy the best one you can afford-you will be using it and sewing makes you happy.

If you have managed all that sewing on a $50 machine bought in 1978, think how much action you will get out of a new one with all the equipment. I paid $300 for a top of the line Elna in 1969 when I was working and then quit to have and raise some sons, and it has been a real workhorse. I thought at the time it was so extravagant, but it has sewn miles and miles from wedding garb, suits, to Carharrt coveralls (patching) and now quilting. Other than when I wrote out the check, I have never regretted it and now don't even regret the check. Go for it and ENJOY, ENJOY and don't forget to share pictures!!

My thought - when was the last time you heard a hobby fisherman justify a boat or rods by how much fish he might catch?

I had heart failure over my first really good machine price. I saved over two years to pay cash for it, $2000.00.

But I used that machine 1000's of hours. At the time I had a car in the garage I bought new, that I very seldom drove, I just didn't like driving back then. Which was the better value? Save your money, pay cash, enjoy!

I'd go ahead and get a new motor for the kenmore though so you have a back up machine, or something for a friend to use if you are sewing together. There are a number of Kenmore collectors in our Vintage Machine forum who could point you in the right direction.

One other shock about today's machines, they are not supported for very long as computer parts are constantly being changed and upgraded. That is why my machine became a boat anchor. To my horror. Go in knowing what every you buy new has a life span, unlike the old mechanicals.

And my thought to add to this posting today happens to be for you to consider the learning curve involved here. I bought an Elna 860 nearly two years ago and let it set, unused, all this time because I was afraid of it. I don't have just one other sewing machine, so this was a very frivolous expenditure of combined funds of a retired couple. I have been taking advantage of the free offer of lessons from the dealer since the first of the year, but this involves driving to Chattanooga, loading the machine into the car with all the attendant accessories, spending the night at a hotel, and going into the dealership for a two hour lesson. (I have to take my machine with me because that model is no longer available in the store for the trainer to use.) And I still don't feel guilty for the expenditure, because, like you, I do a lot of sewing and that machine makes my heart go pitter patter just because it is mine.....Just do it, just do it, just do it.

Some people lament that we fill our lives with "stuff" and say that we should aim to fill our lives with experiences instead. I say you will have the best of both worlds with a new machine. You will have a quality machine and many happy hours spent with it creating to your heart's content, not to mention how many others will benefit from it.

If you can afford it, buy it! My only thought is make sure lessons come with it. I had a Kenmore that could do way more I than I ever tried to do with it because lessons were never available. Eight years ago I decided I needed a new machine. Alex Anderson sewed on a Bernina so I started there. And once I saw the QE 440 I ended there too. I love this machine and am still learning everything it can do. I even took extra classes to get comfortable with it. Yes it was pricey but I figured it would last my lifetime. Just realize these new computerized machines need serviced way more often that the Kenmore,like once a year verse every 10 years :o