Thanks Tom and Sandy. The repair guy called to tell me the three parts he's going to order to replace--needle plate, finger something or other and the hook (bobbin case). They are losing a lot on this machine because they've spent so many hours trying to get it to work well. He said the charge will be around $350--which is fair enough for parts ($150) and labor. Just so curious as to how long it can go without skipping stitches and breaking thread and losing proper tension. I don't trust it.