kittyboxers

Hi! I've been lurking for about a year & thought it was time to participate! So hello, Everyone!

Regarding Berninas, I'd always dreamed of owning one, esp. a 1031 with all the bells & whistles, feet, feet binder, feet case, accessories like knee lift, case, extender, etc. were all there. It was a beauty, just like the one in "How to Make an American Quilt". However, despite following the manual to a T & taking extra good care, it seemed as though whenever I used her for a bit, something would break & I'd take her to the only Bernina repair shop in town at a cost of bout $100, more or less (this was around 2010). I think I paid somewhere around $1000 used + $400 in repairs. I finally decided that I couldn't afford to keep a machine with that high a maintenance cost.

I'd also purchased a used Bernina 800, which I was told could handle anything. It could not. So off she went.

I'm not a novice at using & doing my own maintenance & small repairs to older machines. I have multiple models of Pfaffs, Husqvarnas, Singers, Whites - everything from treadle/handcranks to digital, for home use & semi to pro industrials & I have decades of experience sewing everything imaginable so not like I abused the Berninas. But have to say, for just me, I would never buy another. In fact, I put the stops on acquiring any more machines of any brand, period. I'm at that agonizing point in my life where I need to downsize, pick out the machines that perform the best versions of what I need & call it a day.

Hope that helps! Am sure I'm in the minority as I've read so many wonderful things from Bernina owners.