Bernina Artista 165E, please respond if you have one.
 

Hi everyone!! My husband just came home with an Artista 165E. It's a 2003 with 89 hours on it. He paid $799 for it and was mighty proud of himself. My question is... Do you think this is a good deal on this machine and is the embroidery part obsolete??? Can patterns still be downloaded?? And, are you happy with this machine? Thanks in advance for answering me!!!

I don't have one, but I did find these reviews (which are 11 years old!) of it:
http://www.lovestoquilt.com/print.as...t/030707_a.asp
http://quiltersreview.com/index.php/...achine-part-2/

It sounds like a very good machine, but I think you are wise to ask about downloadability of embroidery patterns. I'm thinking for $800 you could use it simply as a very good sewing machine. My Bernina 1230, which is 15+ years old and has decorative stitches but does not do embroidery, still sells on eBay for about $800.

I did find this closed listing on eBay for the 165E (for $900):
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_saca...mplete=1&rt=nc

so I think your dh got a reasonable deal.

Yes, it's a great sewing machine! And $799 is a good price. But, yes, the embroidery on it is obsolete. You have to run the embroidery with a lap-top computer attached to it. The new embroidery machines can take whatever you put on a thumb drive.

You can download Art Link, (which allows you to use current designs) from the Bernina website. You will need to have a cable that attaches from a computer to your machine. I have the Bernina 185 and while I don't embroider as much as I used to it is do-able.

The 165 was my third embroidery machine. You can connect it to a computer using a serial port connector and send the designs to it using Art link. I sold mine when I upgraded to a 200.

mltquilt

re
 

This thread is helpful. I will try the suggested link in this post.

That's the problem I have with my Artista 180. You need a serial port and I no longer have a computer with a serial port. I've been meaning to ask my IT guy if there is a way to get around that.