I'm not defending Singer but any machine made for discount stores including Brother, are made very cheaply and very fast. Quality control is random so a lemon will more than likely be the norm instead of the rare. Some buy them and they last for years, it's the luck of the draw. The high end Singer and Brother machines are very nice. I don't understand why they have the lower quality with the brand name, a bad machine will turn away customers from that brand for life.