My friend has an 831, it is the same as an 830 without the decorative stitches, a real workhorse. The price is not bad but as you say the accessories would make a difference. Mark is correct, the Bernina factory in Switzerland had a flood and most parts for older machines were lost. But is all mechanical and should go for a long time yet. You can get a lot of information from the Yahoo group for older Berninas "Berninathirtysomethings".