Well, Steve, I'm going to put my 2 cents worth in. The Singer 202 that we realized we had several weeks ago had the presser foot down -- rusted down, not to the slide/needle plate, just rusted. It took a lot of persuasion (gentle, mind you) to get it freed up! So, I'm with you, leave the presser feet up. I've noticed that repair shops usually have a piece of fabric placed between the presser foot and the needle/slide plate -- that's because the machine has been "sewn off"to make sure, and to show the customer the machine is stitching properly! Okay, enough! LOL
Jeanette