How long is to long to have.......
 

Question : On June 9th I had turned my Diamond over to have a small part fixed and cleaned. I have no idea how much longer it will take to be fixed. The small piece is on back order and the small piece now covers the entire top of the machine. The repairman did say I had one of the cleanest machine he had ever seen. I grew up with my uncle teaching me how to maintain a sewing machine. I have taught how to maintain machines at a retreats. So I thought replace the small part and give my baby back. First time I have let her out of my sight, in 5 years. I feel exposed not having it here.

The shop has offered me another Diamond as a loner, but I feel like a trader to my baby . I afraid something might happen to the loner. Sooooooo how long is to long to have your machine gone for a repair?

I think I would max out on three weeks. Think I am being generous. Two would be acceptable.

Two weeks is about all I could handle. I understand if they had to order a part, but holy cow, that was three stinkin' months ago! I would insist they give me a loaner. You are not being a traitor to your machine. Think of your machine as spending some well-deserved time at a spa.

I agree with the others, 2-3 weeks should be all that is necessary. Is the machine useable? Could you use it until the part comes in? If not, I would definitely ask for a loaner. You should look for a 2nd machine as a backup. Featherweights are great and they don't take up much space. I use mine more than my Sapphire for general sewing. I haul the Sapphire out when I want to use decorative stitches or to quilt.

I would insist on a loaner. These days, both repair places and the manufacturers keep minimal inventory, so this is happening more and more. Fortunately, my marvelous dealer knows how much I need my machines.

Seems like you have two options.
Ask for it back til the part comes in.

Accept a loaner with written specifics (about who is $$ responsible) about breakage, damage, scratches seen when you return it.

Or three if you are willing to continue to wait!

Jan in VA

If the parts are on backorder there is nothing that the repair person can do. If they are willing to give a loaner and you have no backup machine, do what Jan said and take it. Think of it as an alternate player in your line up. The show MUST go on!

Sometimes they send them back to Viking for some repairs. I know my Mom's ruby ... they only do simple cleaning any thing else goes back to Viking. Is your machine even at the shop? If you have opportunity check to see if its even there. If it did indeed go back to Viking ... they ( where you dropped it for service) need to be more aggresive in finding out the status.
All that being said ... it really should not be taking this long , no matter who has it.
Do take the loaner.. I know its not like your very own machine , but why suffer , It may even help them get a bit more urgency in getting the reapairs done , knowing you have one of their very expensive machines.

Wow.....and I thought a week was a long time to be without my machine. That was for a cleaning. Never had to deal with a broken machine.....knock on wood.

I would take the loaner......I'd miss sewing too much!

I feel your pain! My SE went into the shop 3+ weeks ago (only for cleaning and checking!!) and I'm about to go crazy without it. Some part is on order -- I have a Sapphire back-up but it's amazing how much embroidery you "need" to do when you can't. If I were you, I'd take the loaner!! In fact, I'm thinking about asking for one.

They would get my machine back to me real soon because I'd be calling every other day to see why its not ready

Skothing -- I'm intrigued by your statement that you do all your own cleaning and have even taught this at retreats. Apparently if you haven't taken it into a shop in five years, this is phenomenal news for all of us. I have (2) Viking 1+ and would surely appreciate some tips or better yet a tutorial posted here.

I bought a second identical machine when the first one needed a new motor. It took 3 months to get the motor into the shop and I knew I was not waiting that long to get it back. The motor was very expensive and maybe the shop thought if I wanted long enough I would buy a machine from them or be glad to pay whatever they charged me. I don't like these people and have found another repair shop.

The last time I had a Brother repairman tell me a part had to be ordered, I told him to order it and call me when it came in and I brought my machine home with me. After three weeks the part never came so I went to another repairman (Bernina but will work on all brands) and he had the part in three days. ? I called the first repairman to cancel the part and he said that was okay as he couldn't get a guarantee when it would come. I told him Mr.___ already ordered and had the part I needed. He said well I guess he knows someone higher up then I do. Really makes you wonder just who you can depend on to know what they are doing.

Take the loaner and pretend you have sent your baby on a well deserved vacation. Now I know why I enjoy having all these vintage machines around. If one of my Bernina's needs repair I can just play with one of the vintage ones.

Ten days seems too long to me when any of my machines are in getting serviced.

The dealer I purchased my Husky from no longer deals Huskies because he had such a problem getting parts. I even had to wait several months for a presser foot. When I bought my machine they were still being made in Sweden, and it seems that after they moved to China parts were very slow in coming. I would have thought they'd have had those issues fixed by now.

My stepfather took his 955 to the Viking dealer to have it serviced. It took about 3 mos for the part to come in and when it did - it was the wrong part. About 6 mos later the dealer was fed up with trying to get the part and sent the machine to the factory to be fixed. I would take your machine back and see if another dealer can get the part for you. At least while you wait, your baby is in caring hands.

I had to order bobbins for my "OLD" viking a few years ago and had to wait 4 months for them (one dozen) to come in.......I ended up emailing the company and really ranting about the delay..........It does seem that most repairs are done at factory rather than at dealer......and I really don't know where that is....maybe China!!!!!!!

have they said why it is taking such a long time? i would first off get a loaner or if not already you will be going thru withdrawels...lol... but check with them it is way way way too long... i would say at max and under certain conditions like having to order a part 3 weeks is way generous... i would think they would be calling you to let you know what the hold up is... check with them... god forbid but maybe they forgot or missplaced your machine...

I don't see why the repair shop would be obligated to provide a loaner, so insisting on such a thing would not be reasonable. I think the shop was very generous to offer the loaner. it's an act of good faith on their part. i think it's also a sign of honesty. after all, they would be trusting you to take care of their machine. people who trust are usually trustworthy. people who are too easily suspicious of others are usually not.

i am among those who recommend you accept the loaner. :thumbup:

Oh my, but this scares me! I have to take my Janome 10001 in for a checkup. She is acting like she feels ill and isn't sewing worth a darn! I tried to embroider a tablecover for the church this morning and it was agonizing! I sure hope he doesn't keep her longer than a few days. I'll go into DTs. Fortunately, I have other machines for backup, but if I want to embroider or applique, I will be out of luck until I get her back.

I took a class that was 9:00 to 4:00. I asked the repairman at my favorite LQS if he could do my machine while I was at the class. It needed cleaning and adjusting (no repair). He did it and I used a loaner for the class. My only complaint about my LQS is about 10 years ago they loaned me a machine for a class and I ended up buying it. lol I never looked back and still love her!!
Sue

You are way too patient! Two - three weeks should be long enough. Where are they getting the part...Chinca? Definitely a loaner would be in order.

Have you checked with the dealer to find out the status of the ordered part. I took a Singer machine that had belonged to my deceased adopted sister. I inherited 4 machines from her and only the older Singer needed repair. I didn't really need the machine repaired immediately because I had the others as well as several of my own. I made the mistake of telling the dealer that there was no rush. Six months later, still no machine. I called them and discovered that they had put it on a shelf in the back and forgotten about it. I had it back within a week after I called and "gently" reminded them that I was still waiting for my machine.

I can hardly stand to be without a machine for 1 week I would say give me another machine I can't survive without one!

First of all, go back and take the loaner. I know you know a machine doesn't have feelings, so there's no reason to be without a machine if the dealer is willing to loan you one. I think that's very generous, and I'd be surprised if many dealers would do that. If something happens to the other machine, the dealer has insurance to cover a major catastrophe, and can fix it if it's a minor glitch. After that, it takes as long as it takes for your machine to get fixed. That's why many of us have a less expensive " back-up" machine.

I guess it really depends on how busy they are and how long it takes to get the part in. I'd say probably 2-3 weeks is about right. I think I would just wait it out. I don't like the idea of being responsible for a loaner machine. Do you have another one you can use or is this your only machine? Good luck. I feel your pain. Take this time to do all those little things that need doing so you'll be ready to get back in the swing of things when she comes home!

Update on my Diamond. No not ready yet. Yes I am thinking of getting the loaner. As some have already said I am fearful something might happen to the loaner, that's why I haven't accepted her offer. As a school bus driver September is a busy month but I do have time coming up next week I could sew. I will ask about getting the loaner for next week. Working 10 to 18 hours of over time each week is wearing me out. And leaves little time to sew.

Hard question. Hopefully you have a trustworthy repair person who doesn't want to sell you a new machine, saying it will be a loooooooooooooong time before yours can be repaired.

My sister had problems with a brand new Viking. After a year of fixing it, getting it back, still not fixed, fixing it again, Viking finally gave her a brand new Upgrade machine. She now has a Diamond and is loving it.