Bought an 870Q a year ago - nothing but problems. The latest is that I sew too much.....and the projects I sew have caused issues with the motor and feed dogs on the machine. It has been in the shop 5 or 6 times over 11 months. Only sew one top a month & 4 totes a month. Any suggestions out there?

I'd ask the shop for a refund, no one should have to put up with that!

This is why I use old Singer mechanical machines - they were built to be USED .....
So, let me get this straight - you can sew too much on new machines, and cut wrong on cutting boards...

hmmmmmmmm, what's wrong with this picture??

They should take it back and give you a new one, or the money towards a different machine all together. sounds like you got a lemon..unless others have had the same issues.
head to the viking website and see..or find a viking message board, and see if anyone else is having problems.
no way, would i keep it.

Sewing too much??? :roll: that sounds more like an excuse than them wanting to own up to the fact that this machine needs replaced...

I would ask for my money back, look at all the time you are waisting bringing it in to be fixed.

It sounds to me like you have a dealer problem, not a machine problem. The 870 is a top of the line machine and should work flawlessly. If you are bringing it in that much your dealer should be fixing the machine or teaching you how to use it, not blaming you.

There is a Yahoo group for Viking Sapphire owners. They are very good at troubleshooting problems and helping quilters get the most out of their Sapphires. If you search for "Viking Sapphire" in Yahoo groups you'll find them.

I have an 850, and I ended up so frustrated with my dealer that I bought a Bernina from a different dealer.

Good luck to you!

Janet

It appears that there are more problems with the Viking Sapphire than I was led to believe. I was initially told it was a work-horse. Maybe I got one with a lame leg.

I believe the earlier models had tension issues that don't seem to be an issue with the newer models. What kind of issues are you having?

I'm glad the person posted about the Yahoo group. I'm going to check that out myself.

No way should your machine spend that much time in the shop! :thumbdown: And 'sewing too much'? puhleeze. I can't believe they told you that. You should be able to use it every day, many hours of the day.

Go above the dealer, to the company, if you have to. Sounds like a lemon.

There are a variety of issues. The lever on the far left that houses the thread keeps popping out of the slot. The machine is very smart and knows that it is not threaded correctly so it doesn't sew a stitch. The decorative stitching is inconsistent but have been told that the motor and panel have been plugged up with debris from too much use! So if I keep this machine, I guess I have to choose my projects carefully & how many I make if I want the machine to perform like a $2500 machine.

I truly think it's a lemon too. I have thought that for a long time.

I think you need to be real firm with your dealer. "Sewing too much" is not an excuse for a $2500 machine.

For what it's worth, there are happy Sapphire owners, who use the machine every day. Part of their success is due to training and support from their dealer.

Janet

I have to agree. It sounds like your dealer doesn't want to have to replace your machine. Too much sewing.........if we didn't sew a lot why would we need a machine. Makes no sense to me. Maybe you can contact the company.

I plan to contact Viking directly. Seems as though the dealer wants to state all of the problems are mine. Picked it up, won't sew on it - want to sell it - I want out. It's funny that when I bought it I was really lucky that day - the last one in the shop! Silly me, bought one with an open box. Sales person said "all the vikings come off the truck like that" - inexperienced sales personnel.

I have had a Viking #1 (not #1+)since '94. Paid $1900 for it. It's been repaired 4 times. The first time about $100, the 2nd time, over $500. The 3rd time $100. It's in the shop now waiting for a belt and that will run about $120.
Most of the time I've owned it, I haven't been sewing that much because of job, family, etc., so it hasn't been really used that much.

I am now sewing on a almost 30 year old Kenmore. I guess that speaks for itself. Not more Vikings for me.

I had a Viking that would not stay on the selected stitch; Went back and forth with the dealer for about 6 months, wrote to Minnesota and finally got my money back and returned the machine.

Never another viking for me-got an Elna that was a workhorse for many years, worked and worked and worked. Now am using a Brother QC 1000 and a Babylock Elegante 2. Oh, and a Singer Featherweight. Love them all.

Good luck and I hope you get the results you want and a machine that will work for you.

I have a Viking Sapphire and love it. No problems at all.
Sounds like you got a lemon, which can happen with any brand. Push for a refund or replacment.

Too late now. Since I wasn't using it much, the problems took a while to surface.

I have the Viking 830 and sew daily. I've put decorative stitches in denim and it didn't skip.
You got a lemon. Give your dealer one last shot at replacing your machine; if he/she won't, contact Viking directly. They will not put up with a dealer who can't satisfy customers and gives all Viking machines a bad name. Companies know that word-of-mouth sells products and your problems would prevent others from buying them.
You've probably been very nice to your dealer but it's time to get "down and dirty" and demand satifaction-you've been more than patient. That's too much money and time wasted.
Good luck and let us know what happens!!

I contacted Viking this morning and explained my situation. They listened carefully and said that it sounds like the dealer has "worked out all the bugs" and that I should take the dealers advice and "sew the heck out of it" because they have done their part as a dealer and addressed all the problems. Sounds like Viking sticks by their dealers. The only thing we agreed upon was the fact that sewing machines from Viking do not get shipped in unsealed boxes and "sewing too much is a ridiculous" concept. Now, I don't know what to do.

Did you get in touch with the home office? They should have helped you.

Keep accurate records of all this hassle so you can present it when you reach someone high enough to help.

I called the 800 # from the website. I have no idea if it was the home office or not???

You probably reached an hourly employee who couldn't care less.

I contacted Minnesota (can't remember where) and they helped me. And this went on for about a year. That was a long time ago, about 1992 or so. Don't know how you would go about finding the home office, if they still have one.

Good luck-don't mean to sound so discouraging, but in this day of imports, I don't know how I would make out.