I've taken my Singer 403A in once since I bought it used, in 1972. I only took it in, because I thought that I was supposed to. The repair man showed me a couple of easy things to do to keep it running smoothly and said that I really don't ever have to bring it in again....oh...and to never sell it and I never did. I did buy another identical machine a couple of years ago, which was hardly used, so I put my older one away for awhile to give it a rest. They are both amazing machines.