Shopping for a New Machine

I returned my Singer which has left me with handsewing again in the interim. Although sewing by hand is great for many projects, it can be difficult to get a lot of refashioning accomplished this way. I've been shopping in my spare time for a new machine. I tried the Viking Emerald 183 and it was awesome. It did everything I ever wanted and even created these adorable little decorative stitches like bicycles and I could even program it to write my name, but at nearly $600.00 isn't exactly in the budget. I've looked through magazines and found that I am totally in love with the Brother Innov-is 80, a limited edition Project Runway machine. However, as is often the case with many of the better sewing machines, you cannot buy them or find pricing information online. Unfortunately to further complicate matters there is only one authorized dealer within 50 miles of my house! I've called and haven't been able to reach anyone, so... I've also been looking on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/). I have found a Brother CS6000i which includes a lot of the functions that I am looking for such as:

• Computerized 60 Stitch Sewing Machine with Multiple Stitch Functions
• LCD Display for computerized stitch selection
• Automatic 1-step buttonholer with 7 styles of auto-size buttonholes
• Automatic Needle Threader
• Oversized Sewing Table included for Large Projects

This machine is less than $200.00 here http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000JQM1DE/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance, but I have concerns about the warranty and repairs. I haven't made the final decision, but if anyone has experience with buying sewing machines from dealers vs. online, please comment.