Re: Buying a sewing machine - best make and where?!
I bought a Brother machine a few years back (not a basic model, around IR£600 but it' s brilliant). I thought buying it from the UK would be best, but I priced it carefully in the UK, called Brother Ireland, got the number of a local distributor who wthout even me bothering to ask, offered me a discount that made it less than the UK price.
For basic models, New Home is fine. The more expensive machines are infinitely nicer to use. Steer clear of the most basic budget models; the build quality is not great.