[quote=irquilter]I think that the dealer makes all the difference,



I totally agree about the dealer making a difference...I went to buy a Bernina at our only local Bernina dealer...they couldn't be bothered to show me a machine. While I sat at the machine waiting for some help, they were off in a corner shooting the breeze. Later my niece, who was in town, wanted to shop hop. Again, no help as we were looking at the quilter's edition not the $12,000 machine...I guess.

Decided to go with the Pfaff with the duel feed and love it. I would love a
fancier machine, but, it's not in the cards! :cry:

I have a Babylock and absolutely LOVE it !! My is an older model (Esante) that I bought about 3 years ago. The only time it's been in the shop since is when I had it serviced this year and, yeah, got a look from the dealer since it should be serviced every year or so to keep it in top shape. I also recently bought a Babylock serger and it surpasses anything else I've used before. I never read much about Babylock but it's a great machine with great features. My dealer is also awesome to work with. I can call even now and ask a question or have them show me something, they're happy to help.

So, test drive some machines - decide what features you need - look for great customer service.

I looked at the Viking Diamond when it came out and found that my $3000 Babylock had better features or had features that the Diamond didn't have. Why would I want to "downgrade" and pay more? Worth looking at.

another thought - Babylock and Brother are made by the same company. I asked my Babylock dealer why would I want to pay more for basically the same machine? The Babylock brand is better made which is why it cost more. Like the Bernina which has all metal parts (or at least they used to)....just better made.

I LOVE my Babylock Esante but want to upgrade just to get a few of the new features like the auto-lift system -- way too cool.....

I have a Janome 11000SE and it is easy to use makes beautiful stitches and also an embroidery machine. Love -Love it. Of course my dealer is great with questions and service. Make sure what ever brand you get the dealer is reliable and the service good.

Hi, I have the Brother Quattro and love it, they have just sewing machings or sewing and embroidery machines and are the most user friendly..love it, hope this helps..you might go and check them out to find out if you like them.

I have a viking and a bernina 440QE. I really love my Bernina, the viking not so much.

I have a viking and a bernina 440QE. I really love my Bernina, the viking not so much.

I really like the Pfaff 545 industrial machine.

I've owned a Riccar(dead), Viking(sold because I wanted an embroidery combined machine), Janome 9000, Morse, White, Janome Compulock and a Bernina 830. So, you could say I've never been one to be brand specific. I buy the machine that best suits my needs at the moment. My opinion is that Janome will give you the most machine for your money and Bernina is the best quality made machine on the market. Have fun shopping and enjoy your new machine.

Babylock Espire(Symphony)-love it, never had tension problems, quilts nicely, lots of wonderful features for quilters