He's pretty safe offering that warranty unless Janome cheapened the machine. My Elna is 37 years old and going strong. She's never had a repair and has sewn everything from metal coated drag racing suits to multiple wedding dresses. It is a quiet, well made machine. It has the most balanced (read hard to remove - you learn not to make errors) stitching I've ever seen on a sewing machine. I am not familar with the new ones because I just don't need one.