New or refurbished ?
 

Been looking at machines lately and several companies have the same machine both new and refurbished with a 6 month warranty on the later. Has anyone ever taken a chance on a refurbished machine and if so, did it work out for you? Or is everyone paying full retail price? A new machine with all the bells and whistles can be very very expensive!

I bought both of my Berninas at a large quilt show so they came with a full warranty but because they were used as demo machines at the show, they are called "open box". Never had any major problem with either one. I would ask for a longer warranty, at least a year. Remember, it is a lot like buying a car so there is always room for negotiating.

I have purchased trade ins and have been very happy. I purchased from a dealer who offered a limited warranty and classes.

I would say that it would depend on the new machine, if it was a new Singer, I'd pass on it, but have been very happy with my refurbished machine, but I did buy it from a dealer.

I bought my used Janome from a dealer paid $300 had nothing
but trouble with it.

Bought both my Brother Innov-Is combo machines from the local
Brother dealer no real problems that wasn't covered under warranty.

I prefer "new". In Cars and machines. I use both for a long time!

sandy

I haven't purchased a refurbished sewing machine, but I did buy my HP printer refurbished, and it has lasted over 10 years, still going strong. I also purchased my Reliable iron refurbished. Both came with a warranty equal to the warranty on new. My take on it (at least with these appliances) is that there is always the possibility that a new item will fail because it has not been tested. These refurbished items had probably failed originally, but had received repair and additional testing, so they were probably less likely to have problems down the road.

My $1,000 Pfaff Exp 3.0 is my great delight - I'm so happy the previous owner traded up to a 4.0 after having it for only a few months! Take an "expert" with you to look!

Depends on the machine, the price difference & the length of warranty on the new machine.

That said, we had my mom's old Singer refurbished when I took up sewing (she barely sewed 3 things on it before it went in the closet for the next 12 years collecting dust, but there was part of a broken needle caught in bobbin compartment & the timing was off). After the repairman gave it a full work-over, it ran as good as new. When I was shopping for my new machine, I started by looking at refurbished machines, but they just didn't have any that met my requirements so I bought "new" and am not thrilled with it. It came with a NEW sales price, but it was a floor sample. That's all the place sells are floor samples. It seems very suspicious to me & I suspect they probably bought them used & fed me this nonsense line about it being a *benefit* to buy a machine that's already been test driven rather than one in a sealed box. They refused to sell me one in a sealed box, even for a higher price. They claimed they didn't have any more machines in stock except the one that was out, and yet I went back for more thread later that day and sure enough, there was another machine out on the floor.

So I guess the moral of the story is: it's not as important whether it's new or refurbished. What matters is who's selling it to you.

I purchased my Brother PC6500 combo machine as a refurbished machine in 2007. It has been a WONDERFUL machine! It came with a one year store warranty and the regular full Brother Warranty since I bought it from a Brother Dealer. It was a true refurbish, not a used machine that had been traded in and resold by the dealer. If you are buying from a dealer I say go for it. If you are buying at Big Lots you may not be so pleased.

I got my Brother 1043D serger refurbished and I have had no
complaints at all. I do use it pretty regularly on non quilt things

When I bought my Husqvarna sewing/embroidery machine it was the floor model. It saved me well over $500.00 and it came with a full warranty. So my questions are, what is the age of the refurbished machine? Is it really a trade-in and a repaired machine? Why not have a full warranty? My machine has been running great, and in three years I took it in once for routine maintenance.

Remember refurbished does not always mean there was something wrong with it.it could just be a machine that was returned and it gets sent back to the factory to be checked over before being sold again. Check the policy of where you are buying for their definition. Some online sites are very upfront about the machines they sell as refurbished

I bought a refurbished sewing machine from Brother and it's been great!! I put a lot of quilts through that machine and now it's my travel machine as it has a smaller harp area than my new NX-2000. I still love my refurbished machine though. It works great! Refurbished means it's been purchased by someone, they either decided they didn't like it or it had a problem, so the company took it back and fixed everything back to factory specs. I would buy another refurbished machine in a heartbeat!!

One of my low end brothers is refurbished have had no issues

I guess this doesn't exactly answer your question, but I did buy my Pfaff 2134 from the shop where I had taken my beginner quilting class. It was a demonstration machine and used for classes, plus that model was being discontinued. So I felt like I got a good buy on a really nice machine from a shop that I trust. That was about 8 years ago and I still like my Pfaff! It has been back to that shop once for a repair which turned out to be only a good cleaning. That said, to me, it was still not a cheap machine.

My husband purchased a refurbished Brother SE 270D for me from Overstock.com in 2006. It was my "daily driver" for several years, and even now it's the one I pull out when I need a buttonhole or some kind of decorative stitch.

I own 2 Singers, a Pfaff, 2 Brothers, and 2 Janomes, for a total of 7 machines. Only 2 of them were brand-new when I got my hands on them.

What about purchasing a floor model from a LQS? I purchased a floor model Janome about 4 years ago and have never had a problem with it. The shop owner gave me a good $$ deal, all accessories (including a walking foot), factory warranty and a $20 gift certificate to use in her shop!
Never hurts to ask...

I agree. Getting to know the dealer and his/her understanding of the brand makes a huge difference. I bought a new Janome from a dealer who has repaired a sewing machine as well as a vacuum for me, and he gave me a 30 year warranty...probably won't live that long.

I purchased my Janome 6600 as a trade in from a dealer. It was less than one year old. Love my machine.

When I bought my last sewing machine, I traded up and I bickered for a lower price and got it. It's always worth a try to save a few dollars when buying a new machine.

I bought a floor model BERNINA B530 and the needle threader did not work. I took it back in and they installed a whole new assembly. I also have full warranty on it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I do like working with a dealer who specializes in specific brands rather than just a sewing and vac store.

My Bernina Activa 240 was a trade in. It came with a warranty and lessons and I saved big $. I've had it for 2 years with no problems.

I purchased an inexpensive, refurb Brother as a travel machine several years ago and it's still going strong. All Brands explains refurbished/factory serviced as items that are blemished, have defects, or have been returned, and are sent to the factory for repair. They can't be sold as new, but can have full warranty and great prices because problems have been located and repaired.

I bought a refurbished Janome from a gentlemen who does sewing machine repair/maintenance. He offered a 1 year parts/labor on the machine. I haven't had a bit of problems with it.

I bought a new machine (Janome) in a sealed box from a dealer and it has been back several times in the year for issues.

Basically, I'm happy with both machines once the bugs got out of the new machine. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a refurbished machine but then again I buy used cars too.

I am from Oregon. We encourage each other to think and live green. I buy refurbished as much as possible, also keeps prices closer to my budget. I am even typing this on a refurbished iPad. The trick with refurbished, is only buy refurbished from a known source. I bought this IPad through Appl themselves. They make it, they can refurbish it properly. Never had any issues doing so. My fancy quilting machine was a "demo" model also, and have been using it nearly eight years with no issues.

Your post made me chuckle. I have always felt that arguing for a better price was a form of "bickering". Grandpa called it "dickering". Lol!

My husband and son -- neophytes both -- bought my Brother Innov'is 450Q from a local sewing center; it was a "surprise" Christmas gift to me. It was a "floor model" and "discounted" but they still paid too much for it, in my opinion, because I think this machine has been abused, probably by people taking lessons who didn't know how to use it. The housing is "off" a little bit, as if slightly warped, and the extension table doesn't quite fit. I didn't know enough about computerized machines when I first got it to know if it had issues or not, but now it's behaving a little oddly-problems with uneven stitch length--so I need to take it in.

My first tried and true old Singer was used when I bought it about a thousand years ago and I never had any trouble with it. But that was then. Quality of everything has lessened, I think, and being computerized means more possible problems. I don't think I would have bought the Brother 450Q I have, but I don't know what I would buy in a modern, computerized machine. Good luck in your search!

I bought a new Avante with the new price but so wish I had bought a trade in from some other dealers who offered lessons for two days. My new Avante dealer gave me about 45 minutes and it's a clunker. I bought my Bernina Virtuosa for 1/3 the price of a LQS but I bought a used floor model off eBay, it's been perfect now for 10 years, took it in one time for a major cleaning.

I purchased my Janome through a dealer. On the advice of a friend, I inquired of dealers if they had trade-ins that they recommended. By luck, a person had purchased the machine I now have and then decided to step up to an embroidery machine. She traded this one in with little use and I've been quite satisfied with it for a lot of years.

I assume your term 'refurbished' indicates that the machine has previously had problems and was serviced by the company. I'd want a good warranty, fantastic price and a reasonable time to test drive that one. It may be that you will have a gem but it may have been a lemon. Be sure the dealer will stand behind it. I doubt I'd want to buy directly from the company because of the distance between them and your machine. I'd want more direct contact with the seller.

I purchased my previously owned Janome 11000 from a local dealer. The previous owner only had it for a year and traded up for the newer model. It was like new when I got it and I love it! The key is to buy from a local, reliable shop. My dealer has been very helpful with education, service etc. And she gave me a great deal😉

Most of my machines are old and I love them.