I have just bought a Singer Featherweight on e-bay and took it to my sewing machine mechanic. He has done a fantastic job on it. Chatting about machines he stated that Janome are by far the best as far as he is concerned.Spares are readily available and Janome as a company stand by their machines!! He said most of machines are now made in Taiwan/China including top of the range Berninas but still rely on their Swissmade reputation!! From a very experienced mechanic JANOME every time!! Hope this helps!!