Thanks, Suz. I did a lot of looking, test driving and research before I went with HQ. I also have a Viking Mega Quilter 18/8, which has been in the factory more than it has been in my house. It is made by Tin Lizzie. I would never buy a machine again that was made by someone else and then another name put on it. Viking was great about sending it for the needed repairs, but when something has been entirely rebuilt, and after 6 months has the issues return, signals go off in the head telling me there are giant design flaws somewhere.

like several others have said, try it out and also a regular long arm with a stool--with the sit downs you are moving the quilt under the machine, while regular long arms you move the machine--two very different methods. figure out which you eel most comfortable with first, then do your shopping. And a quality used long arm will be closer in price to a new sit-down. Now...space is an issue!

I have the Q20 machine ant love it. I'm new at quilting but wanted to do my own quilting, until I mastered the free motion, I got certified on the Innova Longarm standup. I took a test drive on approximately ten sit down longarms in March at the Hampton Quilt Expo and was leaning towards the Jukki and the Innova longarms because of my familiarity with these machine. I wasn't aware that Bernina had a sitdown longarm so when I tested the machine, I had to have it. My machine was delivered and setup on 29th of June. I don't have the space for the Q24 but the Q20 can be converted to a standup at any time and none of the other sitdown offers that.

I had to take my Bernina in for servicing week before last and had an opportunity to check this machine out. These are my views on it
Pros
A very nice machine with a very responsive stitch regulator. I suspect had the tension been set correctly it would also make a beautiful stitch. Was nice from the top but had pokies on the bottom.
The wheels for running on track/carriage system are all metal and two angled wheels run on either side of the track at each location there is contact, as opposed to most setups that have a grooved wheel that runs on the track
The machine moved Very smoothly and easily.
Cons
The stitch regulator is all electronic with a laser eye and no encoders, while at first this seemed appealing to me, I realized that if any one thing went wrong you would most likely have to replace the entire module (Big bucks!). What would happen if one of those laser lights burnt out?
No rear handles, or at least not on the machine I saw. how would you do pantos? I didn't think to ask until later.
All tension adjustments were touch screen controlled. so also all electronic. Call me old fashioned but I like to be able to see my tension set spring to ensure it is ok and I like to be able to tweek both upper and lower tension. the demo model had bad tension at the time but in their defense they said the machine just came back from a show and they hadn't had a chance to reset it.
The control buttons on the handles did not seem to be responsive. The dealer could not get them to operate correctly.
The threading path was all internal on the machine. Again you can not actually see your tension check spring to ensure it is operating correctly. Now that is the case also with my domestic Bernina but if my tension goes wonky it is only a minor inconvenience to haul the domestic off to the dealer. I can't say that would be the same for the Q20 or Q24. Additionaly is Bernina recommending you lug this monstrosity in for annual servicing as well? Uh no thanks. I would suspect the machine head weighed at least 45 to 50 lbs.
It didn't look like there was any way you could do any kind of self servicing on this machine. Most of us who have LA will eventually learn how to reset our timing, adjust needle bar height or replace tension set springs or any other number of simple mechanical adjustments the Q20 and Q24 appears to be all electronic or encased, so even minor issues means hauling this huge machine head back to the dealer.
The hopping foot seemed awfully skinny to me. Can't imagine trying to do ruler or template work with it. So I suspect like all Berninas you have to buy multiple feet so if you want to do ruler work, different foot that you must change out. I didn't think to ask about that until I left.

All in all while it is a beautiful machine and operated as you would expect a Bernina to operate, I feel there is way too much high tech electronics that can go wrong with it and put you out of commission for extended periods if one little tiny thing goes wrong. So definitely not the machine to get if you plan on quilting for others. For your own use it is a very nice machine that also carries a very nice price tag.

I have the Q24 which is the stand up version & I love it. The q20 & q24 have beautiful stitches & are really easy to use. I also have a domestic Bernina with the stitch regulator & love that the Longarm & table top use that technology instead of encoders. I do a lot of freehand quilting on both my Q24 & my domestic Bernina & love them both.

The foot that comes with the Q24 is not the one to use with rulers. There is a thicker foot for that & yes they are pricey! That is a big drawback. There are also back handles for pantos. Again pricey.

This was posted almost a year ago. Is there any updated reviews available on the durability of the needles? I too had that concern.

Many have disposable income to purchase high price items.

9 months later and I can only reaffirm that my Q24 was one of the best decisions of my life. It is a dream to use and never has a problem. I wouldn't consider anything else. You get what you pay for.

Anyone got an update on life with their Q24?

I have a friend who has one and is not as happy as she thought she would be. She thought it had more stitches on it and it doesn't.