twoxover

Hi everyone-

I just rec'd an email from my LQS--they are closing their doors as of june 30. i have a demo/classroom bernina 450 on lawaway there. my original plan was to pick it up on 7/1 when i recieve a company bonus. However, i'll have to bail it out sooner. I'd like everyone's thoughts...my concerns are:

who will now service my machine. i do not know if the quilt shop has made arrangements for this.
who will now provide me with my new bernina owner classes? I think bernina calls them "mastery" classes.

I now have a lot of reservations about buying this machine. if i have a problem, do i even have recourse? what do you all think????

the flip side is, I could ask for my money back and go to a different dealer, or buy a different machine. I'm a viking owner now, I could buy a new viking and in all liklihood, be very happy.

Betsey

katesnanna

Why not email Bernina and ask where you stand and where the next nearest Dealer is. They should know.

Raggiemom

I'd talk to Bernina and see if they can allay your concerns. If not, I would get my money back and buy a different machine. I'm not sure you'd be happy otherwise. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Hinterland

I'd speak to the owner of the store, and also contact Bernina. The store will probably let you bail your machine out on July 1 - it's only one day after they close.

My major concern would be lessons, if you need them. My dealer is 2 hours away, and I've been able to solve any questions with an email or phone call, plus I have friends who also own Berninas.

Good luck.

Janet

twoxover

i do know of two other bernina dealers. my concern is that if I buy this machine, will the other dealers honor the warrentee and be helpful, or is it a case of "you really need to have bought it here for me to take care of you". sigh. I need to be honest, 2000+ for a sewing machine is a HUGE thing for me. to not have good back up is scary. As I said, i can buy the viking and most likely be very very happy.

clsurz

Have you asked these questions to your LQS regarding servicing and such? If not you probably should? If they don't give you a satisfactory answer you may want to consider bailing out and buying it elsewhere.

romanojg

It's a hard decision to make. Even if the other two shops honor the warranty because that's the company that doesn't mean they'll give you good service. We have a Bernina shop here and I've been there many times and so has my daughter and others that I know. Even though they have pretty stuff; I don't like their staff. Let me take that back; they have a new person who just started there from another LQS and she's nice. The owner is the same way so there is no way I'd want to deal with them. I went with the Viking Ruby and I go and get classes and when they have people wanting a particular thing they make an extra class. Like this past week, they created a class for the using the cutwork needles and we made a beautiful table runner. Everyone in that store has been the nicest since I first walked in there two years ago and the girl who greated me offered to make me a fresh cup of coffee. Those are the kinds of people I want to deal with if I have an issue with my machine. Try to check out the staff at the other store and talk to the other stores and ask them about serviceing and helping you if you have any problems with your machine. Get a feel for them to see if it fits. Good luck with whatever you decide.

CharlotteO

I bought a bernina from an out of town dealer who was no longer selling bernina's. I got a really good deal, and I've been able to get service from a more local dealer. The only downside, for the mastery classes, I had to pay for them out of pocket. However, paying for the classes was a lot cheaper than buying a Bernina at full price at my local dealer. In all honesty, I didn't look at buying a bernina at my local dealer, because I was pretty sure I couldn't afford one there. The classes were well worth what I paid, and after one service call for cleaning and such, she sings like a bird, and sews wonderfully.

twoxover

I did send her an email asking these questions and most likely today I will stop in and ask in person. i would likely have a higher comfort level if i was a bernina owner allready and "spoke bernina". the two other dealers are both more than one hour away. i know, not a great amount of time, but for a working mom, time is everything <g>

KarenR

Good luck making your decision.