Buying a new machine almost as bad as purchasing a car
#31
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 619
On prices not being posted-there were 2 shops convenient to me (one closed a few months ago) neither had posted prices and if the owners weren't there the staff had no idea & had to try to call the owner for a price. This was so annoying & I never really trusted the price. I much prefer having the price posted, the MSRP & the "sale" price. At least have a list of prices for the staff to use. More than once I have left the store without buying something I did want because of that tactic.
#33
Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 90
This is why I only sew on vintage and antique machines. They are all metal gears and not digital and will sew for ever.
And there isn't much you can't do that you need to do on a vintage machine. Most of those fancy functions and stiches
on the expensive machines you pay so much for you will never use. And that $3000.00 to $9000.00 machine will
cost you a ton to get serviced and fixed every time you take it back to the dealer.
It might be a status thing to have a $5000.00 Bernina but you sure don't need one to quilt.
And there isn't much you can't do that you need to do on a vintage machine. Most of those fancy functions and stiches
on the expensive machines you pay so much for you will never use. And that $3000.00 to $9000.00 machine will
cost you a ton to get serviced and fixed every time you take it back to the dealer.
It might be a status thing to have a $5000.00 Bernina but you sure don't need one to quilt.
#34
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: The Woodlands, Texas
Posts: 621
Quilterman, I’m going back to the car analogy. You can still drive a lot of classic cars and thoroughly enjoy them (I have a featherweight just like the one I learned to sew on that I made my wedding dress and the suit my husband wore to our wedding). But now I drive a Honda with lane assist, back up camera, power everything and it makes me happy.
The top of the line Janome 9400 I just purchased has wonderful lighting, a large 11” throat space because I quilt my own quilts -even king size, fonts to make a label, my favorite decorative stitches, a function that puts the needle down and raises the pressure foot each time you stop sewing which is wonderful for pivoting, a signal to tell you your bobbin is low on thread, a signal to let you know if your top thread breaks, and on and on. I have a 5 year parts and labor warranty, but my small Janome 3160 that is 10 years old has never needed any service.
I buy a reliable brand but understand sometimes I may have to pay for repairs — car or sewing machine. And if all else fails, I still have my featherweight.
The top of the line Janome 9400 I just purchased has wonderful lighting, a large 11” throat space because I quilt my own quilts -even king size, fonts to make a label, my favorite decorative stitches, a function that puts the needle down and raises the pressure foot each time you stop sewing which is wonderful for pivoting, a signal to tell you your bobbin is low on thread, a signal to let you know if your top thread breaks, and on and on. I have a 5 year parts and labor warranty, but my small Janome 3160 that is 10 years old has never needed any service.
I buy a reliable brand but understand sometimes I may have to pay for repairs — car or sewing machine. And if all else fails, I still have my featherweight.
#35
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Location: NY
Posts: 10,590
The car analogy is good Sheri.a
My first sewing machine was circa 1977 or so (now considered vintage). An all mechanical machine branded JC Penney. I have no idea who actually manufactured it. It had a few decorative stitches, zig zag and straight stitch. I used to sew garments on it. Then I took up quilting. The JC Penney was a very heavy, reliable machine and I still have it as my backup. But then I got my Bernina 153QE. I got that machine approximately 18 years ago so I guess it is now considered vintage as well. When I first got it I couldn't understand why I waited so long. Another car analogy, I went from driving an old pickup truck to a Cadillac! Much easier to maintain my 1/4" seam allowance, quiet, fabulous stitch quality plus some bells and whistles. Yes there is some computerization to this machine and I sincerely hope it lasts me another 20 years.
Yes my vintage JC Penny machine still works and I suppose I could pull it out of the closet in a pinch but I can tell you I much prefer sewing on my Bernina. So much so that when it is in for its annual service, I simply do not piece.
I am a lone wolf sewer. I rarely take a class, I don't belong to a guild and I sew for pleasure not to impress anyone. So I did not buy this machine for status. Yes, I don't need this machine to quilt, I quilted quite a bit on that old JC Penney, but piecing is infinitely more pleasurable on my Bernina. And I quilt on a LA which is also infinitely more pleasurable to me than quilting on a sitdown domestic.
My first sewing machine was circa 1977 or so (now considered vintage). An all mechanical machine branded JC Penney. I have no idea who actually manufactured it. It had a few decorative stitches, zig zag and straight stitch. I used to sew garments on it. Then I took up quilting. The JC Penney was a very heavy, reliable machine and I still have it as my backup. But then I got my Bernina 153QE. I got that machine approximately 18 years ago so I guess it is now considered vintage as well. When I first got it I couldn't understand why I waited so long. Another car analogy, I went from driving an old pickup truck to a Cadillac! Much easier to maintain my 1/4" seam allowance, quiet, fabulous stitch quality plus some bells and whistles. Yes there is some computerization to this machine and I sincerely hope it lasts me another 20 years.
Yes my vintage JC Penny machine still works and I suppose I could pull it out of the closet in a pinch but I can tell you I much prefer sewing on my Bernina. So much so that when it is in for its annual service, I simply do not piece.
I am a lone wolf sewer. I rarely take a class, I don't belong to a guild and I sew for pleasure not to impress anyone. So I did not buy this machine for status. Yes, I don't need this machine to quilt, I quilted quite a bit on that old JC Penney, but piecing is infinitely more pleasurable on my Bernina. And I quilt on a LA which is also infinitely more pleasurable to me than quilting on a sitdown domestic.
#36
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Milton DE
Posts: 3,189
Yup you could buy a car for the replacement price of an older machine but it's what you want and deserve...I'm a Husq Viking fan and invested for the first time in their SE model in 2007, not for the sewing part but for the embroidery part. At that time it had the ability to transform a photo into stitches and I was interested in doing a Geneology Family quilt with family photo's and written history. List price was 7500 and I got a deal on an open box for 4500...Yikes...I debated and finally my husband said "buy it you deserve it"
I'm happy to say I've since not only completed that Family quilt but many others and still have my
SE and wouldn't turn that in for anything and pray everyday it conts to live on, never had any issues other then reg cleanings.
If I had to replace it w/another with same capabilities and more, we are talking car...15,000....OMG I don't know if I could or would do that but I use all it's capabilities and sometimes "a girl just deserves it"
And yes I enjoy the older Singers I collect them and use them on occasion but there's nothing like using a machine with allot of 'Perks" and the possibilities of creativity are limitless....
I'm happy to say I've since not only completed that Family quilt but many others and still have my
SE and wouldn't turn that in for anything and pray everyday it conts to live on, never had any issues other then reg cleanings.
If I had to replace it w/another with same capabilities and more, we are talking car...15,000....OMG I don't know if I could or would do that but I use all it's capabilities and sometimes "a girl just deserves it"
And yes I enjoy the older Singers I collect them and use them on occasion but there's nothing like using a machine with allot of 'Perks" and the possibilities of creativity are limitless....
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