You may have made a decision already but what I did.
In 2015 I went to the big sewing show at Puyallup. I wanted to try out all the machines in one place. I had a 4-5 year plan before purchasing. I live In BC Canada and used machines are rare, even more rare on Vancouver Island.
I regularly checked the local online classifieds as well as the
https://www.longarmuniversity.com/MachinesForSale.html.
Handiquilter is the only brand that has support nearby, but I was impressed with the information I got from Andrew and Gammil, as well as APQS which has BC presence. This was before Janome had their long arm machines.
In May 2015 I saw an ad for an older HQ 16 available locally. When I called I was the 5th person who had called, but I was the first to show up with cash. The next day I picked up Diana and took her in for servicing before taking her home.
Now the not so pretty part. I loaded a Jelly Roll Race quilt onto the machine, quilting 3/4 of it and that is it. The machine has sat for the better part of 4 years. There are numerous reasons why. I do not regret my decision to buy the machine and am going to take a series of workshops in May to get comfortable using her. My plan for this summer is to finish 4 quilts.
I did buy a new bobbin winder as the one that came with the machine is temperamental.
If after this summer I decide long arm quilting is not for me, I will be able to sell it for what I paid.
If I decide I really like long arm quilting, then I may look into upgrading in 2020.