Looking at Long Arms ... Nolting?
 

I can tell this will take some time. At a Home Quilting Machine show today in Salt Lake I had a chance to check out several brands. I kinda like Nolting. Anyone had experience with this one?

I have a Nolting and I love it. When buying a long arm be sure to fine out about who will service and cost. I know some girls with other machines and the service is high priced and some even have to take their machines (big and cumbersome) in to get them serviced. Most important thing about buying a machine is who will help you with it. My Nolting dealer is a peach. Training was great and they are helpful with any questions.
Enjoy whatever you get.

If you have any dealers within a drive of your home, go try it out first. If not, and there is a quilt show coming that you can attend, go try out all the brands there first. Talk to the sale people about prices and deals.
Ask at your LQS or Guild if anyone has a long arm could you talk to them about what they like and dislike about their machine. Do you homework. This is a big investment.

Nolting is a well established, reliable mfgr of l/a.....friend had one, loves it, no complaints.........

I agree with spice for a large purchase like that you need to make sure you have good support and how easy the servicing and training will be for you.

I agree 100% with what alleyoop1 said. it is a VERY big investment just like a car.

The rule-of-thumb is to take a year to research and try out before making a decision. There are several longarm groups on groups.yahoo.com. It would be a good idea to join to get info from actual users of different setups. My own recommendation is to be sure to try out an Innova before making a decision. That's my personal favorite "dream" machine and I would probably purchase it even without a dealer nearby, as they have good telephone support and the machines are very self-maintainable. There are two Innova groups on Yahoo; some of the members there have owned other brands before switching to Innova so you can get that point of view too.

I too am wanting to buy a L/A and since I am new to long-arming I have been doing a lot of research. After a while it gets very confusing. What I think I am coming to realize is that the machines do basically the same thing - its the little accessories that may come with the machine, i.e. blacklight that may a difference. (when comparing similar size machines such as an 18" throat machine. The other consideration is the dealer and how helpful they will be; proximity to home and price.

I have a Nolting Fun Quilter and it is plenty machine for what I do. It is a good machine and is easy to operate and I enjoy using it. Customer service is great and they are a good company to work with.

I have two noltings and love them