My daughter is attending the Univ of Auckland in NZ for grad school. She will be there until December of next year. She has decided she wants to learn to sew. I can't be there to teach her, but she does learn quickly and does well with tutorials. So, she needs a machine. Where would she look for a good basic machine, probably used, that won't break the bank?

Thanks for any guidance you can give.

Check a local thrift store, yard sale or newspaper. I find the better deals at church or an organzation sponsered thrift store.
Good luck to her in college.

'trademe' on line, is where people buy and sell here in NZ, if she just looks in the Auckland area she can ask to view prior to buying, this will also save on transport costs, take along a friend who knows something about sewing machines and ask to try it. You can also view the sellers record on line. I have bought and sold this way a lot and it is great. Get to know how the system works first so as she is familiar with the way it all works and she should have no problems. Best of luck for her year in NZ it is a wonderful place!

Gal

Thanks for the suggestions. She and I both have been looking on Trademe, but I am not familiar with some of the brands they are offering. Some are small Brothers, new in box. I have a CS4000 for a back up and it is a decent machine for the money, but the model numbers are different on Trademe. I will keep looking and doing some research.

Gal, Yes, what I have seen of NZ, is beautiful. We were there last October. We rented a car (driving on the left was a hoot!) and took a trip to Mount Ruapehu and it was such a beautiful drive. We stayed at a hostel and had a great time. We are planning another visit in late October this year.

Thanks again for your suggestions. I also found that New Zealanders are very nice people. :-)

Popular brand names here are Brother, Janome, Husqvana, Bernina, Elna, & Pfaff. I have always had Brother machines and I have been more than happy with mine.

Some stores in Auckland....

'Cushla's Village Fabrics'
www.cushlasvillagefabrics.co.nz

'The Quilt Shop'
35 Pearn Place
Northcote Shopping Centre

'Bernina Sewing Centre' (Quilt Fabrics)
52 King St
Pukekohe

At a glance, these were the only ones adversitsed in my Quilting Mag.

Gal

Thanks. I have been in Cushlas, it is very nice, and I think I was in the Bernina Sewing Center...at least I was in a Bernina store in a suburb of Auckland. It didn't have much fabric, but it had the patches I needed to repair my son in laws trousers. Once again, thanks for the info.