Appa Valley

Hey there everyone!

I was wondering if ya'll could give me any advice on how to properly shop for a new machine. I tried to have some questions ready but only came up with two, so here we go:

What should I bring to test out the machines? I read some people take small quilt sandwiches, is there anything else I should take?

What questions should I be prepared to ask the dealer?

Also, I emailed a local Janome and Babylock dealer and they quoted me a price of $4999 for the Janome 8900 and they said that the Aria was around that price. Do you think they quoted me the original MRSP? I guess it would be better to just go in and ask. Although they did say that it would be less depending on how I pay.

Thank you beforehand for ANY helpful advice you could give me. Right now I have a mechanical Brother LS-1217 (the only machine I've ever had) that was my mom's before she let me take it over. So I am kinda nervous about finding my first new machine that will be all my own.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

ManiacQuilter2

The best place I bought both of my Bernina is at a large quilt show that will attract a variety of vendors. You go and sit down and test drive the DSM at each booth. WHEN you get down to just a few models that you have selected, that is when you get down to the nitty gritty of who can offer you the best price. Don't forget any extras they can throw in the bundle such as maintenance service, classes and extended warranty. Usually since the DSM are "out of the box", they are sold used and the sales people really don't want to pack them up and take them back to their store. Probably the prices quoted on the phone are MRSP. You will find that sewing machine salesman have a lot in common with car salesman. You have to dig deep and use comparison sales in order to get the best price. Good Luck and Have Fun !!

atvmom40

Hi there - I've been quilting for 25 years and currently work at a sewing machine store, so here are my suggestions:
1 - If you are going to free-motion quilt, make sure you get a machine with plenty of harp space. Take a 12"-18" square of sandwiched material to practice on with the FMQ foot for each machine.
2 - If you machine applique, take a sample to test stitches (applique or blind hem, depends upon what you like to use).
3 - Take a couple of pieces to sew together & test the 1/4" foot for each machine.
4 - If you have a preferred thread that you like to use, take some to test on each machine.
5 - I always ask what type of sewing a customer does and if they have aspirations for any other type of sewing to make sure I get them into a machine that will grow with them, so ask yourself the same.
6 - On the same note, don't let them oversell you into a machine. Lots of people get sucked into an embroidery machine and never use that portion of it.

Personally, I'm a Pfaff girl when it comes to machines because of the built-in IDT system, but I can tell you I LOVE the Aria! It's very easy to use. If it had the built in IDT, it's the machine I would switch to.

Hope all of this helps.

Sue

PS - double check your pricing, I know that we sell the Aria for at least $1,000 less than that. Feel free to email me directly if you have any other questions @ [email protected]

romanojg

I agree with others, the best time to buy is at a show or sewing event. Here there are Floriani events through out the yr and they sell Brother, then Viking has events at our LQS and then in Feb there is the Hampton Roads Quilt show and sometimes a few others in there. You get the best deals. I bought both of my high end machines from our Viking dealer, they were used but came with a warranty, when I traded in the first one, I got almost the whole amount I spent back on the 2nd one. The 2nd one came from Vikings Yearly event with dealers, it was set up to use if a dealer needed. I got all the bells and whistles, the luggage and full warranty and spent several thousands less than normal.
You should go try out different machines, write down the features you like and want, needle up/down, knee lift, auto thread cutter etc and then compare and try out any machine you think you might want or try them all out because you never know you might find one you hadn't considered a great choice. You can't beat good customer service. There is one high end machine that lots of people love that I wouldn't even consider because of the store, they have lousy customer service on daily things so I wouldn't want to deal with them on something major like this. Make sure to find out if you have a problem will someone help you trouble shoot, do they have to send the machine off for repairs, etc. I'm sure you'll get lots of advice and pay attention to it all but make sure you feel good about what you are getting. Most of the high end machine companies offer free financing so that can make it easier and more affordable. Good luck and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you as well.

Shelbie

In my opinion, Atvmomom's #5 and #6 suggestions should be your #1 priority. You really need to be clear in your mind about what type of sewing you do or plan on doing. If you rarely or never embroider anything, why buy a machine with that capability as you will be paying lots extra for a feature you will seldom or never need. It is also possible that two different machines might serve your needs better and might be cheaper than buying one large expensive machine with all the bells and whistles. About 85% of my stitching time is spent piecing and quilting. As a result I bought a Juki TL98Q machine (slightly used) for $600 Canadian (about half price here) to do all of my straight stitching and quilting and I love it as it is fast, powerful and makes a great stitch. Sometimes I need a few fancy stitches so I have just purchased a Juki Exceed 600 with lots of stitches and a built in buttonholer for $1100 brand new. Both of these machines cost me less than my Janome 6500 ($2100 new in 2004) which was suppose to do it all and I never liked (giving it to my sister!) You need to think carefully before you part with your $ as buying a new machine can be an expensive mistake.

Appa Valley

Thank you everyone for your answers so far. Keep 'em comin!

There is a quilt show coming up in March that I will hopefully go to, so maybe they'll have a couple dealers. Now would I take the same things to a quilt show for testing machines as I would for a store? And also, when you buy a machine at show then do you pay the full amount or do you still get to pay in payments? What do you do if that particular dealer is a few hours away from where you live?

I mostly just piece quilts right now, my machine throat is so small that I don't even bother trying to quilt anything on it. So most of my quilt are tied or hand-quilted. But I would like to learn FMQ. And I've never done much applique but that is another thing I would like to learn more about. As far as machine embroidery, I'm not sure about that one. I think I would like to do that, but then I don't know how much I would actually use it. Only because with my current machine it doesn't have that capability so I've never had to opportunity to machine embroider.

Dolphyngyrl

That is too much for both of those models don't cost that much you can get a crescendo for 3500-4 which has more features so why would you purchase an aria for that much and I think I have seen the janome in the 3k range as well. I would sit down and write down the features you want and are a must for you because the 2 machines mentioned are very different in features, that janome has accufeed, but doesn't have pivoting but the throat plate is easier to come off. The aria has pivoting, the dual feed is not built in but a separate attachment and has a differential feed very different than the janome, you do have to screw off the throat plates, the screen on the aria is nicer to me than the janome. You really have to know what features you want. I would bring quilt sandwich some super thick materials to see how each machine handles bulk, and scraps of difficult fabric you like to sew like minky or silky fabrics, knits. I have the brother version of the unity which has all the features of the crescendo. The aria doesn't have the laser or pen, but 4999 is the MSRP in the crescendo so I wouldn't pay that for the aria or the janome for that matter, but I can tell you my machine has the pivoting feature, love the optional multifunction foot pedal on these machines, not sure if that's available on the janome, it sews through super thick materials(I am talking 10 layers of denim) flawlessly with the dual feed, sews knits beautifully with standard foot.

Dolphyngyrl

Show models are discounted quite a bit, and you can get some good deals at , how ever you need to check is warranty work can be done locally if needed. Do keep in mind that some dealers won't service machines not purchased from them because I have seen quite a bit of this in the past year of people having problems getting their machines taken care off when they purchased from a dealer out of the area. so if you end up needing any warranty work done and the dealer is out of the area it could be a problem.

Sandygirl

My 2 cents......btw, the new Janome website shows the MSRP. No one pays MSRP.

WHat is your general budget? Share the range of pricing you are "considering". (What is your TOP price you are willing to pay IF you see the value in a price range you can handle? Keep this under your hat.)
What kind of sewing do you do now?
What features do you want on a machine?
What is on your wish list of features?
Paying cash= more bargaining power.
Financing= less bargaining power
trading in? See above note for financing.

Do a lot of research online first. Visit the mfgr. Websites, read reviews. Take notes, print pages.
test sew on various models, mfgr. Erognomices really play into your buying decision just like buying a car. You have to be comfortable with how it sews, the "looks", how the dials, etc are configured, is it noisy vs. quiet? Size of the bed, etc.

Don't be in a hutty to purchase but don't expect any machine to be "perfect" either. Models vary within one mfgr and across the board. Give and take is inevitable. Prioritize what are your must-haves and those you could do without. A lot of give and take.

I remember when I went shopping for my machine in 2006 and, again, last November. The back & forth of which models had what I wanted vs what price point was realistic for me.

TRUST your instinct and decision. No second guessing.

good luck!
Sandy

Sandygirl

My 2 cents......btw, the new Janome website shows the MSRP. No one pays MSRP.

WHat is your general budget? Share the range of pricing you are "considering". (What is your TOP price you are willing to pay IF you see the value in a price range you can handle? Keep this under your hat.)
What kind of sewing do you do now?
What features do you want on a machine?
What is on your wish list of features?
Paying cash= more bargaining power.
Financing= less bargaining power
trading in? See above note for financing.

Do a lot of research online first. Visit the mfgr. Websites, read reviews. Take notes, print pages.
test sew on various models, mfgr. Erognomices really play into your buying decision just like buying a car. You have to be comfortable with how it sews, the "looks", how the dials, etc are configured, is it noisy vs. quiet? Size of the bed, etc.

Don't be in a hurry to purchase but don't expect any machine to be "perfect" either. Models vary within one mfgr and across the board. Give and take is inevitable. Prioritize what are your must-haves and those you could do without. A lot of give and take.

I remember when I went shopping for my machine in 2006 and, again, last November. The back & forth of which models had what I wanted vs what price point was realistic for me.

TRUST your instinct and decision. No second guessing.

good luck!
Sandy