I have rethought this expensive machine thing. I've had 3 top of the line Vikings and this last one (Designer SE) I thought it would last my lifetime so I was ok with the investment. It is probably 18 years old now. A part broke and I did get it fixed by a friend who owns a used sewing machine business (commercial machines). He had a dreadful time getting the machine apart and back together again. It was a piece of plastic that got bent. He told me to order the part and he'll do it all again. He did straighten the piece out and the machine works ok but just doesn't hum like it used to. I can't find that part to replace it. The dealer tells me that after a while they stop making replacement parts. To me, 18 years old isn't that old when it was a $6000 machine. If my sweet machine stops working, I'm not going top of the line anymore. I'm getting a plain ole workhorse. I rarely embroider anymore because operating systems change and the software to run the embroidery doesn't play well with them and it is always a headache to get it loaded on the machine. I think they make sewing machines nowadays like they make washing machines. They want you to replace rather than repair.