I, too, am looking at getting a new machine. I am looking at a Bernina 560, but am leaning towards the Janome 8900QSC. I like that the 8900 will tackle all sorts of fabric (l like making totes out of heavy fabric) plus it has a much larger throat than the Bernina. Still trying to decide.

I don't know this particular machine, but the first question I would ask is how far are you from the nearest authorized Singer warranty service center (not just a place that does sewing machine work, but the warranty work)? I got a new Singer 9960 in May from Amazon at a great price. I loved it and had a great time with it for 90 days. Amazon has a 90 day return period, and it's as if this machine knew about that because it was on day 90 it refused to sew a stitch. I tried everything I could think of, read the manual through several times, and finally called Jo-ann's because I had seen a sign in the sewing machine area saying they service Singers. They don't do warranty service. For that you have to get the machine to the authorized place, which in my case is about an hour away. And I'm lucky, because there are only 3 places in Texas that do this work, and Texas is big. If I lived in Lubbock, for example, instead of in the greater Houston area, I would have to ship the machine either to El Paso, Dallas or Houston, which are all 5-7 hours away by car. I haven't looked, and it's possible there is one in Omaha or Lincoln, but I would check into the availability of warranty service before buying any machine.

There's a chance that Amazon might have taken pity on me and let me return the machine if I'd asked. Because it had a year of full warranty coverage for parts and labor I chose to have it fixed. It needed a new main circuit board, and I was told that if I'd had to pay for that it would have cost more than I paid for the machine. Maybe it will work for years without another problem. I don't know, but I'm treating it like a Faberge egg. I do enjoy sewing with it, but I'm a little less than thrilled that I bought it in the first place, and I probably would not buy another Singer.

But what to buy? Pfaff, Singer and Viking are all owned by the same corporation, and no matter how wonderful everyone may think their Pfaffs and Vikings are, for me they have been tainted by association. When it took more than 6 weeks to get the part my machine needed, I half suspected the company had abandoned me altogether. The machines and parts for them are made overseas and of course it can take time to get the parts. We truly are at the mercy of the how committed this company is to maintaining the integrity of the brand. It's hard to know, but 6 weeks would have been a painful delay if that had been my only machine.

I have several vintage machines that I love, but none of them come close to the new computerized machines for certain things. I suppose if it's more complex, as well as lighter weight (plastic parts) there is much more that can go wrong. They are not built to last as machines from a half century ago and earlier were. Whatever you do, don't get rid of good old machines just because you may have something new and seemingly wonderful!

Best wishes!

I had a good Singer for many years and then started to have problems. Since I do mostly straight stitching, I figured Singer would be fine. Well, I went through two of the cheap ones and had nothing but problems. I got one at JoAnns and one at Walmart. Luckily the Walmart one was new enough I could return it.

I went with a basic Bernina Activa 210 and I love it. Well worth all those extra dollars I paid for it. Plus it came with a couple years service and maintenance for free (I suppose it isn't free when you consider the cost of the machine but you know what I mean :-).

Just one more point. Several Bernina dealers told me (did a lot of shopping over the phone before i decided on a machine) that all Berninas have the same motor. It's just the more expensive machines offer more bells and whistles I guess you could say.

Also, on the Singers, there are certain model numbers made just for Walmart and then maybe a different model number made just for JoAnn. I don't think they are all available at a Singer dealer. Therefore, I'm not sure the quality is what it should be on all of them either.

WalMart Brothers are a different quality than a sewing center Brother. I love my Innov-is 1500D

Singer is manufactured by SVP Worldwide a holding company. They manufacture Singer Viking and Phaff Janome makes kenmore machines, Elna besides janome machines. In years back janome was called New home. Just for information. And Bernina is a Swiss company but not all their machines are produced in Switzerland.