I service my pre 1956 machines myself, but took the 1973 Elna in yearly when I had a good repairman and was using her heavily for apparel and home dec. She doesn't get much use these days and there is no good repairman available, so it's been a while now. I will call the old repairman one of these days and see if I can bring her to his house. That machine isn't going to be touched by anyone who doesn't know what he/she is doing.

I had a machine tech order me the tools needed to open my housing. Most will under the table for a generous tip. That was less then the cost of one cleaning. I can deep clean the machine and oil it myself. Any sewing problem I have that needs a repair I take it to the local shop.

When I sewed on just one machine...my Janome 6600, I took it in faithfully each year for service but now that I have 3 and use all 3, I take them in about every 18 months.

I now have multiple machines so each individually does not get the amount of wear/use as in years past. From time to time usually just before a quilt retreat I will clean and oil my feather weight. (Many good tutorials on Youtube.) My other machines, get a once a year or once in 18 months check up but when I get the feeling they are sluggish, I do a quick check for lint and "fuzzies". It is easy to clean out the dust bunnies myself and cheaper than a trip to the shop.

My computerized Viking doesn't go in regularly at all. In fact, it's been several years since it's last service. I have been giving it quite the workout lately and plan to take it in just before going on vacation for 2 weeks. Doesn't cramp my efforts that way.

I have never taken any of my machines in for cleaning or "check up". I did take a used Janome in, once, to see if it was OK and have it cleaned, since I was not the original owner. Before taking it in, I rolled a piece of masking tape and put it on the edge of the cover and locked the lid down. I had heard that this shop may not be actually cleaning machines.....sure enough, I was charged, but the cover was never removed. No more visits to that shop. A tip from my guild. If you take your machines into a shop that does a lot of servicing, mark the inside of your case with a permanent marker, and put colored tape or a tag on your cords and foot control. I do clean and oil my machines myself. I would take my machine in if I heard unusual noises or it was malfunctioning. Other than that, no costly trips for cleaning.....save the money, buy more fabric. Ha!

All mine are vintage, they go in for service when I get them. Then I clean each when they get sluggish or make a different sound. One advantage of vintage is I can clean them myself.

As I live a distance away from my dealer I try to get my machine in at least every 2 yrs. I don't use it everyday or sometimes only a couple times a month.....depends on what's on my plate. Now my sister hadn't had her machine in for years and she didn't use it much either. When she decided to hem a tablecloth her stitches kept skipping. I asked her if she had cleaned her bobbin area. She looked at me like a "deer in a headlight". Clean the bobbin area? She didn't know you were supposed to. So I showed her how and she had no more skipped stitches. She decided maybe she should take it in for a good cleaning after all......................Duh moment.

I have 2 Berninas and they go in every year for service. Neither has ever had a problem.

When my Bernina Artista 180 was my only machine, I had it serviced faithfully every year. I feel that when you spend a lot on a machine, the cost of having them serviced regularly is a small price to pay. Now that I have a lot of machines, I don't take them in as often. The vintage ones only go in when there's a problem I can't fix. The Bernina and Juki I tend to stretch to every 18 months. I do have a schedule to clean and oil my vintage machines though