AlvaStitcher

On March 6th I purchased a Babylock Jazz II from a LQS and it has been back in the shop for the third time with tension/feed dog issues. Today they suggested that I trade it in for an Allegro and just pay the difference in price. Now I’m leary about purchasing another Babylock machine. The Jazz II is junk, in my opinion. Anyone have an Allegro that could comment on how you like it, etc. thank you.

Peckish

Was the Jazz 2 used or refurbished?? I have a Jazz 2 and love it. Never had a single problem. Maybe you got a lemon. Can the LQS swap it out for a different Jazz 2? I'm suspicious that they want you to pay more. Did they actually ever look at the machine?
I have a friend who took her machine in for repair several times. It kept having the same issues. She finally because suspicious and placed a red thread in the machine in a place where the tech would have HAD to remove it in order to service it. It came back to her with the thread intact, which proved that they never even looked at the machine. She was furious - they had charged her for every visit. I'm not saying every shop is like this, but maybe get a second opinion about what's wrong with it.

Onebyone

The Allegro was one I almost bought. I decided to buy the Juki 2010q. Very little maintenance needed and has all the features I wanted for machine quilting and piecing. Easy maintenance is key for me. I took my fancy computer machine to get repaired and the guy said I needed a new foot pedal. When I went to get it I looked at the foot pedal and my address label was still on it. When I said no wait a minute, he back stepped and said oh my mistake. He went to the back and finally one of the front workers said it probably is in one of the boxe you haven't opened Yep, it was. He never had the new petal to exchange it out in the first place. If you have a reliable machine repair shop you are blessed by the sewing angels.

dunster

If the place where I bought a sewing machine treated me like that, I would contact Babylock directly, and let the LQS know that I was doing that. And under no circumstances would I buy another machine from them. It sounds to me like the technician or the LQS (or both) are either incompetent or dishonest.

sewingpup

I have never sewn on a Babylock. No dealers anywhere near me. But I had a Bernina 570 that kept misbehaving and had it back in the shop for three times because of thread nesting in the bobbin area. I finally had it and told them I did not trust this machine. I was thinking maybe they would give me a different one because I had bought it from them. They offered to trade it in at a good price but a little more for a 590. I took the trade in and actually I am glad I did. The 590 has been a great machine so far and seems to be made a bit more sturdy and also has some features the 570 does not. Do they deal in anyother brand of machine? Maybe they would let you trade in your machine for a different brand?

rjwilder

I've owned a Babylock Allegro for almost two years now. I haven't had any problems with it. I love the big throat and the ease of using the machine. I always clean out the race, use good thread and have never had any problems with it. I've heard complaints about the Allegro but it's usually operator error, they didn't read the manual, can't get it threaded, etc. I've quilted a lot of quilts on mine and have three more in line to quilt this weekend.

AlvaStitcher

Thank you for your thoughts. The shop does not return your money but will take the cost you paid off on another machine. Now a friend wants me to look at a Janome MC6650 at a shop in a nearby town. Anyone have experience on this machine? I am so undecided on what to do. Argh!

Onebyone

The Janome MC is a great machine. Lots of youtube reviews for both these machines.

mkc

The MC6650 is a decontented MC6700 that is allowed to be sold by big box stores and as an Internet order for others. It lacks the AcuFeed capability (built-in walking foot if needed) of the 6700. You can use a generic Janome walking foot in its place, but it's not quite the same (AcuFeed has several feet you can attach to the mechanism, including a narrow foot).

There might be a few other minor differences from the 6700. If for any reason you need a free arm, the 6650/6700 doesn't have it. It's a flat bed machine only.

I'm a Janome fan - my 7700 is over 11 years old and still going strong.

ElaineCovid

Before you do anything, if you bought this machine new, I would contact Babylock head office directly. I had problems with a (different brand) machine, and after several attempts by local dealer I bought it from, to fix, in frustration I contacted the headquarters and they resolved things promptly.