I have an older Kenmore (bought new, in 1977), a Janome 7700, and a Brother cs6000i. The Kenmore was a workhorse but now needs attention (minor, I'm sure). The Janome is for my quilting and the Brother was bought, to teach my daughter and granddaughter to sew. Bought the Brother online, from WalMart . . . and it's PERFECT, for its purpose. It sews very well, is user-friendly, and has enough bells and whistles, to please any beginner. Yes, it's probably mostly plastic and yes, it was relatively inexpensive. However, it gets the job done and doesn't complain. I can use the same bobbins in both the Brother and the Janome, so occasionally switch back and forth, if I'm constantly needing to change thread. The machines 'feel' different and I do prefer my Janome . . . but it also cost a heck of a lot more than the Brother. I did lots of research and thought long and hard, before shelling out that much money for a sewing machine. When buying the Brother, I also did lots of research and decided NOT to buy a lesser Janome. The Janome would have had a lot less 'bang for the buck' and this particular Brother had very good user reviews.
Bottom line - whatever you consider, do some research. Find out what owners of the machine, have to say about it. Don't go into any store and just take the word of the salesperson. Remember the salesperson wants to SELL. He/she may badmouth the competitor, in order to make a sale . . . whether or not it's true.
As for "you get what you pay for" . . . that isn't always true. You can find excellent bargains on quality machines . . . and you can also pay mega-bucks, for crap.
