I'm moving up from a flawed 1970's Singer Fashionmate 288 so I'm no expert on machines, but so far I'm liking my new Juki set up. I've also used the Bernina mechanicals at school, and a borrowed Singer from the 80's or 90's.  At The Sewing Machine Shop (Walnut Creek, CA), I tried the Pfaff Creative 2134, the Babylock Decorator's Choice, and Janome's 2010.  Since I got home, I've been hovering over the machine, turning it on and off (it makes a bzzzt! noise), and generally sort of just letting go of my new purchase jitters. Oh, and taking pictures!

The handle of the machine fits through the hard case, which is padded inside with some molded pieces of cheesy styrofoam glued into place.  Seems sturdy enough, but I'm not sure it will hold up for 30 years... Side pocket full of stuffs: handbook, extra bag full of accessories (walking foot, darning, plus others), cables, foot pedal, and the knee lifter. The Juki is pretty plug and play. No hitches there.

Here's the accessory tray with some included feet, bobbins and the like. Beneath the tray is space for the buttonhole apparatus, which is a sensor type that plugs in to the side.

The threading and stitch chart from above.  Apparently, the bobbin winder has a separate motor. 
With the case off, the free arm is, well, free. I forget what that grey button is, but now a little lever is exposed that drops the feed dog. There's a slot in the back side of the case for stuff storage, but it's an awkward space I probably won't use.

Conclusions: The Pfaff was slightly smoother feeding then the Juki with that built in walking foot/IDT, but the stitches looked close enough to my untrained eyes. While the saleslady could just whiz away at the faster Pfaff speed, I know I rarely get out the gate that easy at home. Also the Pfaff has a 9mm max stitch width (apparently easier to sew zippers) where the Juki only has 7mm, which is not a dealbreaker for me. However, none of the other machines at this price point had the same kind of features as the Juki. Once I started using the auto cutters, it was hard to go back. I think the only function I liked that the Juki doesn't have was the tie off stitch. Finally, the auto needle threader isn't as easy to use as the Babylock, although again, not terrible.

In any case, I have 30 days to change my mind. The only remorse I have so far is that I didn't bargain harder for extra needles, bobbins, discount, free service, classes and whatnot. In fact, there was a sign that said if you spend a certain amount you get a gift card, and I emailed them but have yet to hear anything back. They offered me basically nothing except a toll free phone number. No one else sells Juki in the area so they had me over a barrel unless I bought online, but really I prefer to support someone local. I did ask for a tax break to even it all up but the owner said nix. Honestly, the folks there are friendly and helpful, so no major complaints. I probably was just obviously too sold. 

Tomorrow, the pillow making test begins.