I've been sold on Janome machines since I sat to help someone sew on a Janome Gem Gold. It was noisy, nowhere near as quiet as the old Singer 301 straight stitch that I love to piece with, but I was favorably impressed. I decided I wanted the Gem Platinum for the needle down feature, but at that time it could only be bought from a dealer, and as most of my machines come from thrift stores, the price was a big OUCH. Since then I have picked up two of the Janome's, one given to me and one online from Shopgoodwill.com. At the price you have earmarked to spend, you could get more bells & whistles. Put some strips of fabric and thread in a quart bag and keep it in your purse or the car so that you can sew test samples when the urge strikes you. I would not tell the sales person how much you have to spend, let them work on making you a deal that you cannot refuse. For a long time Janome made the Kenmore machines and I have some of those, good machines.