For me it would be true. I have never bought a new car. But my brother has and when I told him how much one cost he was floored. And he understands having the best/right tools for the job. However I don't have the room for even a mid arm so will have to "struggle" along with my Brother domestic. :-)

other than not having room for one...another reason i dont have one

Yes, my local quilt shop was asking 10.0000.00 for theirs, they just recently had it on ad for half that.

I bought my 18" Innova 3.5 years ago for $7,000. They have gone up in price a bit...I think the 26" Innova is $12,000, including the frame. Before I found the Innova, I was looking at spending $25-35,000 on a Gammill to get all the things I wanted on it, so I figured I got a huge bargain with the Innova...and the Innova dances with me much better then any of the Gammills (or other LAs) I tried. And I really appreciate having 24/7/365 tech support with my Innova!!

Susan

I have to say I've been thinking the same thing, "Can I really afford a LA, or should I save the money for a car?"

I was VERY encouraged when I watched "Stitched" the film, last week, that the competitive quilters they followed who were getting their work ready for the Houston show we NOT using long arms! A very pleasant surprise to me. I know that many really good quilters use long arms, but it gives me hope that I can do the kind of quilting I want, and continue to improve my skills without one.

Ye Gads! What are they made of - gold? I'm with you about having a regular machine with a large throat. You'd think they would realize what a big market they would have if they made such a thing. I know Brother and Babylok make a machine where the throat is about 9" (I think), but an even larger throat would be much better. I've read some of the comments online about these two machines - some good, some not so.

Pretty much! The Tin Lizzy isn't as expensive as some of them.

$$$$$$ I wonder why?

I just saw one this week that had a price tag of $50,000 would you believe!!!!

Obviously the reason they don't do this is because they want the LA business. MUCH more $$$$ that way. Ugh!

yes longarms are certainly not cheap....and really I think they are a bit overpriced...but what isn't these days.......look what a regular domestic sewing machine can go for.......I have an old APQS which does not have bells, whistles and I purchased it slightly used.........have had it for 10+yrs and with regular maintenance and occasional visits to mfg for complete "spa day" it has paid for itself....BUT, this last time I went for spa day and looked into a slight upgrade that could not be retroed on this sewing head the cost of the new sewing head would have been 7K, so needless to say the "ole" one came back home with me!!!!!! and will stay with me until it dies...........

What's the difference between a mid arm and a long arm? Not just in price but in performance?

I agree. I was lucky enough to afford the 26" with Lightening stitch (stitch regulator) and 12 ft frame, but still cheaper than Gammill, especially when you realize the maintenance is minimal compared with a Gammill. I used to rent time on a Gammill with no stitch regulator at at a LQS near my home, $100 for all day class (they had a used Nolting with no SR first, then upgraded to the Gammill) and $12/hr - no minimum time, but they were only open 10-4 and I worked FT.

Then we moved and the only LQS that rented a machine (Tin Lizzie) was going to require me to take another 6 hour certification class ($125) and charged $25/hr (2 hr minimum). They have now switched to a Gammill and are charging the same rates, plus a $75 refundable deposit. You also have to buy a set of zipper leads to use on your quilt.

At those rates, I figured since I had some money saved that I should go ahead and get mine and I love it. I can quilt on my own time and at my own speed. Don't have to worry about rushing to finish.

I tried on a regular machine and don't like pushing the fabric through. I also prefer to do my quilts from beginning to end, so sending it out was not for me, either. The only quilts I will do for others are charity quilts for guild, otherwise it's just my quilts.

I just bought a fully-loaded 2011 Ford Explorer for $21K. Lots of longarms and frames cost twice that much or more.

Not gonna happen for me unless I win the lottery. And you have to buy tickets for that, which I never remember to do, so those chances are pretty slim. ;)

yep, I know a lady that has enough wrapped up in her Gammill Stadtler to purchase a very nice BMW!

Yes , Some are crazy in price. But I love mine :)

New Longarms can be quite costly. However, there are some superb machines on the market at very reasonable prices. Nolting machines start at around $4200 new with table and go up to $15,900. You can always get the "extras" such as hydraulic lifts, computers, etc but most don't cost anymore as an add- on down the road. My Nolting machines are my 4th brand and I wish I could go back and just buy Nolting the first time. They are truly made in America, making all their own parts in Iowa so they are never obsolete and the company and dealers give top notch customer service. They also have factory refurbished machines, at a good savings, that have been traded in on bigger machines. If I can help anyone with any other info please don't hesitate to call-913-649-2704. I also have an used Apqs Millinium, 18" Tin Lizzie, and 24" Nolting commercial machine all used that are available.
As someone else said, you can save significantly buying used. I would never been able to have even my first machine if I had to buy it new!

Yes, it is true...and the longarm is just the beginning. Then there are the accessories such as pantographs, pattern boards, thread and more thread, needles, etc. I understand the new Innova is around 10K. There are some cheaper, made for use at home, type set ups, such as the HQ16 and they have made many folks happy. I have the A-1 Elite and although the machine has a 23" throat area, it is a very simple machine...it just sews, no reverse, no cutter, etc. The expensive part of the set up is the table...12 feet long, three solid steel poles, etc. The table is very important because that is what keeps the quilts square while quilting it and will hold the weight of a big, king-size quilt. I started out with the Viking Mega Quilter on the Inspira frame, and I became very frustrated because the poles were weak, and once I had quilting about 2 feet of the quilt, due to the roll that produces, I only had about 5 inches of quilting space, and of course the further you go, the less you have due to the roll of the quilt. Definitely put the cobash on my artistic ideas, which is why I purchased the A-1. Truth be told, though...I liked the Viking Mega Quilter machine better than the A-1 because it had a thread cutter that cut both top and bottom threads at the flick of a switch, now I have pull the thread up and snip both top and bottom thread while leaning way over that massive table. My suggestion is to go and try out all kinds. Check for noise of machine, smoothness of the tracks, sturdiness of the table. If I were to purchase again, I would lean towards the Nolting Professional 23" machine. I test drove it at a quilt show and I was very impressed. Just my personal opinions here. I would not trade my A-1 unless there was a serious defect, and there is not, I have quilting hundreds of customer quilts on it and it has never let me down. It is easy to fix yourself, which is important since the head weighs 75 pounds and you have to take the table apart to get the machine off. I keep her well greased and oiled and she will run happily for many years to come. But yes, I could have purchased a car for the price of my table and machine...and a luxury car if you add up all the accessories I have added since.

Yes, and they take up as much room as a car, too.

You can add a lot of goodies to your LA and yes,the price will go up, up and up.

Yes, we have an expensive hobby.

Oh, I love the fabric store idea,......if only....

Not unless you are going to buy the GM Volt, which costs $40,000, compliments of the government. Another fiasco!

I would have to send out 200+ quilts in my remaining lifetime to the laq'r to justify the top of the line $30K set up. And I don't have the space either. I will practice fmq and do that on the smaller quilts. They are so tempting, if I win the lottery, a bigger house with a big studio and a $30K la system. I can dream!! I dream big!!

I bought a Tin Lizzie 26" and I pick it up next weekend. I bought it used, it's only 10 months old though. s7sue, I would LOVE to find a long arm at a garage sale!!! Wow, that was a true find!

Yeah, I have a lottery dream (it has to be the "big" one) - a house with everything on the first floor with an huge "play room" upstairs for my studio and a few bedrooms for storage and a place to put my plotter printer and laminating machine for my desktop publishing stuff I do for church. Lots of light with a nice sitting area, etc., etc. If I'm going to dream, I'm going to dream big!

I just got a Lacresta by Martelli, the cutter people. I had a Bailey 15" and had nothing but trouble. Everyone said there was a long learning curve but I tried for a year and got nowhere. The Martelli machine gives me pleasure every day from day one. The difference in cost was large but what good is a machine that you hate?Try several before you buy.

With prices like these I will never become a long-armer.

Not always.
I have a TinLizzie18LS (paid about 6K for it in 2006) & I added a Qbot robot quilter for under 1800. last year.

Yes, the higher end machines can cost from 18 to 30K, but those were way outside my budget.

I can do everything the big machines can, and my setup is paid in full. Check around for good sales (usually show specials), or good used machines.

They are pricey, but so worth it if you are into quilting.

I bought a Nolting Fun Quilter 17" with Intelistitch regulator and a 10' frame, bobbin winder, zipper set for $7,600 plus sales tax for your state. Mr. Nolting and Mr. Gammill were partners at one time and parted ways, Nolting is the lesser known of the two. I absolutely love my Nolting. I have done a quilted a large queen sized quilt and had no problem at all. The zippers will take a 103" backing. I very happy that I got the Nolting, my dealer was a dream to work with.

yes it is true! I checked the price of many machines and frames befor I purchased mine.It truly depends on how many bells and whisels you want.I got my whole set up for less than 3500.(hope i can do that on this board)

You can purchase one the cost of a car or a house but there are those out there that are not as expensive.. My hubby bought me a Ken Quilter-used and it was sold because a repair dealer did not repair it correctly and talked the owner into purchasing a brand new one his brand he was selling. My hubby looked at it and changed the roller around and it has been working great ever since. It all depends on where you look. Ken quilter was and may still be made from sliding glass door frame and parts come from the hardware store not a dealer. But you still find the dealer of Ken quilter willing to work with you if you want to purchase a new one or a used one and these are made in the U.S.A. But I would not have a computer on it unless I wanted to go into a professional business. For me its just for fun in making quilts for my family and friends and a few giveaways.