madamheather

I found that Bernina was over priced and they do not offer computer support for their very expensive embroidery machines after a certain time and you are left with a $6,000 machine that cannot be used with the computer. Also, I found that they are made with plastic that breaks without even looking at it. The shop that I purchased the machine at refused to let me come back for any classes to refresh my memory on how to use the machine and the repair tech was extremely rude every time I needed repairs. The Viking store here fixed the Bernina better than the Bernina store. Would never buy a Bernina again!!!

1screech

It sounds like you have a dealer who won't be in business very long based on their customer service. I would say that the Dealer you purchase any high tech machine from is on of the most important things to consider. If you dealer sucks, you will not have the support to learn the machine, ask questions, etc.

My dealer offers lifetime machine classes for free. Their service dept is knowledgeable (owner's husband) and I have called him many times when I had an issue and he walked me through it at no charge. They are in Florida (Lk Mary) and I would not trust either of my Bernina's to anyone else for repairs. The "Bernina is all metal parts" as far as the inner workings of the machine. The embroidery hoops are plastic. The Bernette sold by some dealers is not the quality of the Bernina. I also have an Elna, 3 FW, and a touch sew singer and the singer my Dad bought my Mom when they first married so I am pretty familiar with a lot of machines. I chose the Bernina over the Viking because the staff at the Bernina store was so much more knowledgeable and helpful than the Viking people at JoAnn's. I visited each store (3 different JoAnn's) and the Bernina dealer multiple times before I decided on my Bernina 200. At the viking store inside JoAnn's, they could not answer my questions and would only demo the embroidery for about 30 seconds. I had whole designs from the Bernina store that I brought home each time I went in to ask more questions or see some other feature of the machine. I wish you had had a more positive experience. The dealer and customer service is high priority when you spend that much money for a machine.

madamheather

I have asked every Bernina rep I could find since there have been several Bernina stores that have newly opened and there is no software made by Bernina to make the 800 work with the computer, even e-mailed the main reps. Bernina no longer supports it. The store I bought the machine at finally did close--a plus for the community.