How much would you pay
 

After knocking my Janome 6500P off my quilting frame and having it separate at the seams, I took it into the repair shop. The 6500P has more stitches on it than I will ever want to use or can use...I should have really checked it out before purchasing it online. Anyway I told this to my repair man and he showed me a Janome 1600P straight stitch only machine. He said it was brought back in after a woman passed away by her husband that didn't know what to do with it, and thought she had only used it 5 times or so. To me, it looked a little rougher than that, but he had the box and everything for it. He's asking $600 for it.
It won't be an upgrade throat space wise ( I can only quilt about 4-5" at a time) from my 6500P, but I'm still thinking about it. Is this a good price on a used 1600P?

If you have a larger throat space now, you will not be happy without it unless you don't do any machine quilting. That's my two cents. Don't know much about the Janome's you are talking about, I only have a Janome Gem to take to classes.

Agree with what Donnamarie said. I'm sure none of us who have 300-350 stitches
on our machines use them all. There are other features that make them attractive.
But they come together with the gazillion stitches. Hope you can find the right
machine that will fit your needs.

I FMQ on either of two 9" throat machines I use all the time. I have FMQd some queen size quilts. They are straight stitch only machines. I would never use more stitches. I have 4 other machines with multiple stitches but, smaller throats.

I have the 1600P and it is my go-to machine for straight stitching. It is a workhorse. But I did not ever learn to use it for quilting. Either by itself or on a frame. I know many do, but didn't work for me. If I didn't have another machine with a few of the specialty stitches, I would not be happy with it as my only machine.

That seems to be a high price for that machine.

When I had a machine in for servicing and waiting for a part, I was loaned a 1600P.
Discovered very fast that it IS a work horse, and would jump at it if I had the chance (and need).
A very simple, plain-jane machine, but one that is highly sought after by those doing lots of stitching.

Price ... to me, $600 sounds like a good/fair price.
Though the only way you would know if it is, is to find out what the going prices are in your area.
Keep in mind that by no means is it a new model.

The big questions for you to ask yourself ... is it going to do what you want it to do?
What does it not have that you need/want?
What extras do you get with it?

I agree with QuiltE. Another thing you might want to check is if he's going to warranty if for you. I'd also go with your gut feeling. If the machine looks rough, it's probably been treated badly even if not sewn on that much. That would be a no-go for me.

Maybe the machine was preowned when the last person bought it? Maybe she did use it only a few times but what about before her? Can you find this machine on ebay to get somewhat of an idea what it might be worth? Yes, I'd inquire about warranty from the current seller.

that is a good price i paid 1050.00 for mine.

For that money I would get a used Juki. I own the Janome 6500 and also am familiar with 1600P. I think $600 is a bit high especially if it is not in pristine condition.

I don't know what a fair price would be. I recently removed my Pfaff Grandquilter from it's frame and decided to use it as a workhorse for quilting with a walking foot and for FMQ. It is also great for straight stitching. It has a larger throat space than my Bernina, but I has only about 4-5 inches of room for quilting. I was completely fed up with its lack of throat space. If you want to put another machine on your frame, I would save up and get one with a larger throat space. By the way, I purchased my Pfaff and its frame for $1,000 about 7 years ago used. I would search out used machines. If you have a local quilt guild, someone might have one gathering dust.

I don't know anything about Janome but I bought a Juki TL2010Q straight stitch only for a little over 800.00 new and it's a wonderful machine. Just a thought.

Totally agree back on both counts!
Gut feelings usually tell us what we need to know, but too often don't want to know! :)
Definitely go for a warranty.
If your serviceman thinks so highly of the machine, he should have no problems with giving you that.

Then make sure that you use it a lot, during that period, to give it a good workout,
so you can feel confident it was a good buy for you.

As I recall, the Janome 1600P needs to have a cover for the feed dogs when FMQ since they don’t lower on that machine. You can get A new Brother PQ1500s (basically the same machine) for about that price and it has the ability to lower the feed dogs. For just a little more, you can get a new Juki 2000qi or a New Juki2010q. Both are also pretty much the same as the Janome but they can also Lowe the feed dogs.

the going rate for a used PQ1500s is about $350. If the Janome 1600p looks a little rough I would not pay anywhere near$600 for it. If you do decide to go for it make sure it includes the cover for the feed dogs— you will need that for frame quilting.

Rob