I bought a pfaff quilt expression 4.0 in 2007, with fabric mover, I have two new motors put in it so far every time I do a quilt something goes wrong was offered $300 for trade in on babylock.
it needs to be put back in the hospital again do to tension issues. $2798 is what I paid it as cost me another $700, to have it fixed.

I have the 4.0 and love it!! I haven't had any problems once I got used to it.. It was hard to me to get used to not having a pressure foot lever. But once I got used to that it is great. I used the free arm today to mend the sleeve of a friends jacket. Learn more about it every time I use it. My late husband bought it for me nearly 3 yrs ago now.

It's a piece of junk
 

I bought this machine 4 years ago for $2,000 and it's the biggest consumer mistake I have made in all my many years. It was made in China and there are a huge number of negative reviews on this machine on the net. It is so widely distained that I cannot in good conscience sell it to anyone and no dealer will take it in trade. It just sits in it's box while I chug away on my Janome 6500.

So sorry you've had all that trouble. I would be sickened if I had spent all that money on a lemon. It sad that all these machine companies, and that includes Singer, Janome, Bernina etc., once had such great reputations. It doesn't matter which brand and model I've looked at, each one has had as many good reviews as bad ones.

I tend to believe that mostly people with problems of any kind complain, whether a sewing machine or a kitchen utensil, about them while the thousands of satisfied customers say nothing. There's a thing in sales called the 'ripple effect' - a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their bad experience, a happy customer 2-3 people. "For every customer service complaint, there are 26 other customers who remain silent."

From my research so far, I haven't found a machine for home use that isn't built in China including Bernina which one reviewer commented on, "Bernina cleverly disguise the fact."

It's a big investment for many of us, particularly at an age where the machine may be the last one we'll be able to afford to buy due to retirement etc. Purchasing the right machine and one that is not a lemon despite the brand's reputation, seems to be a big risk with sewing machines. And the warranty repairs and service of the brands don't seem to have all that good a reputation either unless you're lucky enough to find a good local technician.

Researching, buying and using a higher quality and more expensive machine is not the pleasure I thought it would be.

I spent over five hours trying to fix my pfaff QE 4.0. I am wanting to free motion quilt, which I have done many times. The top thread continously makes huge loops underneath, causing a huge mess. I have cleaned it, changed my thread type,.changed needles, rethreaded a dozen times, turned off and restarted, and to no avail. In the past when this has happened, i would rethread and that would clear it, but but to no avail. I just had my machine serviced in October. I live 100 miles from the store, so this is a big prpblem. I continue to be very disappointed in this machine. Anyone with the same problem?

I bought a 3.0 Pfaff Expression in 2010. I have rarely used it and just can't bond with it. Even the threading is a challenge. I bought this because I had a Pfaff 1471 that I literally sewed into the ground after 25 years. These two are NOT the same kind of Pfaff. The new ones are made in China and are nowhere near the caliber of machine they once were. I LOVE the IDT but boy they don't make them like they used to.

I bought my QE 4.0 in 2011 (Wow - 4 years). I know I have not used it to its full capabilities. I have had no problems. I love the longer throat (at that time Bernina had not come out with it yet.) I have done regular straight sewing, some of the "fancy" stitches. I am still trying to learn FMQ. I have encountered none of the issues others have described. The IDT is wonderful as is Needle Down. I have a great dealer and am confident any issues would be resolved.
I chose the Pfaff when I felt my Bernina 707 from 1973 no longer filled my needs. I compared the Bernina and Pfaff. The longer throat is what really sold me.