Quiltlady, you have gotten some good advice here. It seems like you really know what you are doing, in that you are researching all your options with this machine. I would think, after you check out the foot pedal for problems, you could do the cyber search thing that so many of the ladies here know how to do, and do the repairs yourself; at least up to the point that you can still use your machine for FMQ, since it seems to be your favorite. And look at what you'll be gaining--you can say you charged yourself $70 to DIY. In this case, your time wouldn't count. The ladies are always saying "don't cut yourself short on your time", but I myself think of my time as "free".....Haha.