Shopping for Long Arm but no dealers in my state
 

Hey all! I have been researching all of the long arm machines and their options and will be going to HMQS in Salt lake to test drive as many as I can. Right now I am between APQS and Gammill. Unfortunantly I have not found a single dealer for any LA brands in Wyoming except for Handi Quilter. Should I consider HQ? ive read some pretty bad reviews about those machines. Is it going to be terrible purchasing a machine from a dealer in Salt Lake and being about 4-5 hours away from the dealer? I am located on I-80 and am about the same distance to salt Lake city or Fort. Collins/Denver colorado. Advice? Thanks

Amanda

The closest dealer for my LA is 6 hours and 2 mountain passes away. If you find a good dealer, they will work with you. Mine is great. I needed to bring it in for repair he met me at the back door about 2 hours before they opened, I spent one night on the coast and by 2 the second day I was headed home. (this only happened once, but they were great to work with. I did make the appointment 2 months in advance so the tech did not have anything else to do that day but work on my machine. For training on the LA they condensed the training down to 2 days for just me. When I got home I could call them at anytime I had a problem or question ( I still do). I have even had them tell me to hang up the phone and they called me back, sure saved on my long distance phone bill. A lot of my problems were operator errors, and they never make me feel foolish or stupid. Lets just say I have called them enough over the years, the Techs know my voice, and don't even ask who is calling.

I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about HQ machines. I test drove several at an Expo a couple months ago and it came down to Gammill and HQ. One of the reasons I ended up buying(but not at the Expo) an HQ Avante was finding a great dealer close to me. I also found that there were a lot of extra costs involved with the Gammill that I didn't have with the HQ.

Cari

I love my Handi Quilter, both the machine & the Dealer. I am also surprised that you have heard negative things. I had a different brand that I traded in so I do have something to compare it with. If at all possible, I would want the dealer to set it up. There's a lot to it (it took 2 installers several hours and they know what they are doing!) and if I had any issues, it is easier to trouble shoot if you at least know it was assembled correctly. They will make sure that it is running properly before leaving. My dealer offers free unlimited classes. I went a couple months after I got my machine and took a maintenance class. I have had a couple questions that were resolved over the phone. Other than that, I just watched videos, asked questions on this board and practiced, practiced, practiced.

The dealers are the key. I had a friend purchase an expensive machine at a show and the local dealer didn't want to service it. Since you are the same both ways to a large town, I would check out the dealers first and see what they offer, let them know you are headed to a show and see what happens. The sad part is the dealer said they would have matched show prices.

What brand machine do you have?

I, too, had narrowed my choice between APQS and Gammill. When I bought, the Gammill was on sale and had channel locks and the larger bobbin, both of which I wanted. I think now the APQS also has the channel locks and the larger bobbin, but 5 years ago they did not. I do not have a local dealer, but am able to work with Gammill by phone and they have always solved my problem. In one case, they had me take a video on my phone and text it to them of what the machine was doing. That helped them with the diagnosis and it ended up being a minor fix. I don't think not having a local dealer is that much of a detriment these days, although it would certainly be nice.

How do you like your gammill now 5 years later? Are you just quilting for yourself or do you do it as a business? Do you find the Gammill to be easy to maintain and quilt on?

Which HQ do you have? Do you primarily just quilt for yourself or do you quilt as a business? Is it easy to maintain? Have you had any issues with tension or with drag?

When test driving them did you notice much of a difference in the function and preformance of the machine/frame between the two brands? What were some of the additional costs with Gammill? HMQS is a month away and im excited haha but it helps so much to hear from owners too before I go :)