Originally Posted by RuthV
Here's something to think about. Local sewing machine store told me that Kenmores sold by Sears were made by Janome. Almost identical but without all the fancy "eye candy" and at a much lower price. You can get a higher grade Kenmore for the same price as a lower model Janome!
This is a common misconception here it seems. Janome and Sears are two different companies. Kenmore and Janome build similar machines with usually the same specs. at the same factory. You should consider which company you want to deal with for customer support and warranty issues.