How long do you expect high-end sewing machines to last? Will this be my forever DSM
 

I'm contemplating buying a Brother Dreamweaver VQ3000 or the Babylock Crescendo. These machines are said to be the most advanced sewing machines on the market. They are high in price (although certainly not nearly as high as the prices on the higher end Janomes).

I was talking to my DH about buying one of these and I was thinking this would be a machine I can use forever. But upon reflection, I realize that that is probably pretty unrealistic. I am 48 years old and hope to have at least another 20 years or more of sewing. I started with a basic Janome I had purchased 10 years ago and never used until 2011. Then, that fall I wanted something with more options (thread cutting and more stitches) and bigger throat so I got a Babylock Espire as a trade in machine from the LQS. I have never bonded with this machine and feel it is a bit of a lemon. How realistic is it to expect to even use the same machine for 10 to 15 years and be okay with not trading it in for something else?

I still have my Mom's featherweight that I learned to sew on, made in the 40's. Still purrs along. Went through 2 Singers in my 20's and 30's, got a Brother with some Fancy stitches about then and traded up to a Bernina when I made 75 square dance dresses and got paid $75 apiece! Traded up to another Bernina when a friend was trading up and I gave her $100 for hers, as that was the difference the dealer would giver between hers and mine. Then I found a Viking embroidery machine that I fell in love with! I was still working, figured this would be my retirement machine so I took the plunge. It was D1 and took floppy discs. When I retired and tried to embroider, I found I would need a different set up for my brand new computer that DIDN'T use floppies! So I traded up to the SE and about 4 weeks later the Diamond came out. I stomped my feet and got the dealer to give me the DIamond for what I had paid for the SE, as he knew it was coming out! That said, I am now 71, not in need of a new machine, the Diamond is about 8 years old, the new Diamond Deluxe is lovely but nothing on it would entice me to upgrade at this point.

To your question should you get 10 or 15 years from a machine, yes, treat it right and service it, and you can get many more years than that. Will you? Depends how much you desire the newest bell or whistle that comes out, a larger harp, a special feature that wasn't even invented when we bought that one (embroidery machines were very new when I got my first one). I have 2 sergers, the D1, the featherweight, the Diamond and a couple of antiques, including a treadle. If you are a 1 machine girl that isn't as impusive, I think you will be fine.

My question to you, why would you not want to trade if the occasion should arise that something new pulls at your heart strings? I didn't ever intend to have so many machines, or even change that often, but life happens. I love my hobby/obsession, and I don't do alot of traveling, entertaining, major spending. My car is a 2001 and only has 54,000 miles, still runs good, not looking to trade. But....who knows, I might see a flashy new shiny one that catches my eye, and ..... good luck!

I sew on a 30+ year old Bernina. It is a mechanical, so doesn't have the bells and whistles or the computers. I do think with care, it is reasonable to expect a high end machine to last.

Cheers, K

Can you expect a SM to last 10 years? Sure, why not? I have about 15 machines.... most are vintage that I've found, cleaned up and oiled and still use all the time. I do my straight line quilting on a 1916 hand crank because it has perfect stitches and I can SITD perfectly. That one will be 100 years old fairly soon. I do have a fancy $$$$ embroidery Viking that I just had to have.... but it doesn't get used much.... usually for putting patches on bluejeans because it has the open arm. I've found that when I was younger (I'm 68 now) I had to have whatever was newest to keep up with the Jones as they say.... I am happy with what I have these days.... I can afford a newer fancy $$$$ SM but why? I make some pretty nice quilts with what I have.

My Walmart cheapie Brother machine is 18 years old. It has sewn everything you can possibly think of and a few things no one should ever sew. It is still going strong.

My first machine was a 1971 Singer 237, which I bought new. When I retired her after 35 years, it was because I couldn't wind bobbins on her (this was before the Sidewinder hit the market), not because she couldn't still sew. That was in 2005, and I purchased a Bernina Aurora 440 QE, which I thoroughly expect to last me 20-30 years. As with linda and nanna, I also have vintage machines -- six Singer Featherweights ranging from 1939 to 1964, all of which still work, and a 1936 Singer treadle which still works. I also have a 1928 Singer that I would like to get working one day. Then I have several Berninas, all from the early 2000s.

Also, my sister has several Berninas and a Pfaff from the 1980s, and they all still work.

I suggest you talk to the dealer who sold you the Babylock and see if he can fix whatever problems you are having with it. From everything I've read, it is supposed to be a very good machine. But if you aren't happy with it, then start looking for something you can be happy with. And if you treat your machine kindly and with the respect a well-made machine deserves, it should last you many years.

I'm expecting my Bernina 820 to last me for as long as I need it. If it doesn't I'm thinking of going back to a more basic non-computerized machine, me and the machine just like "the olden days"!

I bought a Viking Designer SE embroidery machine about 7 years ago thinking it would my forever machine, however, I just bought the Babylock Crescendo (same as the dreamweaver)...so even though my Viking still sews and has never has a repair...I wanted something different. I really didn't enjoy the embroidery, so that was my excuse to trade down to the BL. I paid something like $6000 for the viking and now only worth $1500-2000. So like cars resale values aren't great.

SUGGESTION....wait until the new Brother machine comes out and in a couple weeks and see if the prices go down. I bet they will.

I think this is more a question about personality than it is about the hardware.

Will the hardware last 20 years? Good chance it will, especially if you take care of it and get regular maintenance.

Will you want a new machine before then? Only you can answer that! For me, the answer is, "Probably yes". Will I actually BUY a new machine before then? I can't answer that yet, I don't know what kind of awesome upgrades they will come out with in the next two decades! (But probably YES again!)

it is the software that goes away, not the hardware. As radically different or better software applications come along, eventually the machines are no longer supported by the makers.

I expect some of the machines mentioned here are embroidery machines, I'm guessing that may double the price of a machine?
If I'd never had a machine before and decided I wanted/needed one, I'd define what I want to use it for. Then I'd get the best machine with the least amount of carpola on it, and care for it until it or I died.