I feel your pain. I usually go into withdrawal if my Janome 4000, has to go in for it's routine "physical exam", however, I was fortunate enough to find an older Brother machine for $0, best price ever. It really does a great job stitching, in fact I think it's shorter zig-zag stitch is better, but at least I have an alternative. I had an older Kenmore machine, which served me well for many, many years, and it was exceptional at thicker fabrics and quilts. Unfortunately, I managed to burn out the motor - very disconcerting to have smoke coming out of your machine.