PurplePassion

Hi, How often have you taken your faithful sewing machine in for a tune-up? I have had my Singer for over 15 years and it has been sounding kinda rough and noisy. After a long time of procrastination, I took it in to my local sewing / vac dealer. They charge $59.99 for basic tune-up and adjustments. Does this sound like a fair price? She said it sounds like a gear is broke. Then it wouldn't be worth fixing ; but they would sell me a new one. Just how long should a machine last?
Elaine

k_jupiter

Not worth fixing? 60 bucks os a good deal for a tuneup here in this part of the world. I think I payed 70 for my Elna. They also fixed a part that was broken, that cost me 80. then a gear broke as soon as I tried to use it. That cost me 20. So now I have a 40 YO Elna that sews as sweet as can be. As soon as finances allow, the Bernina goes into the shop. It's sounding a bit cranky now too.

SO the deal is. If it costs you 100 dollars to fix your singer, and you get 15 more years out of it, is that worth it, or do you need to buy a multi hundred dollar unknown machine made of plastic?

Only you know what you need.

tim in san jose

P.S. if a gear was broken, would it work at all? I think not.

zyxquilts

I have an early-1950's Singer & a 150th Anniversary Singer, both working just fine thank you. But I'm with Tim - $100 repair for 15 years worth of sewing...that's only $6.67 per month! Or are you looking to justify getting a new machine?

But what can I say - I drove the same Isuzu P'up for 25 years before I bought my new HHR. :wink:

sue

azdesertrat

hi
for a mechanical machine here in Tucson its usually 69.00 and for a computerized its 89.00 but they really go through and fix and clean the machine,so its worth it,and at the shop I go to,if it unfixable,like my grandmothers was,there is no charge at all.
like tim said if you get another 15 years out of your machine ,then its well worth it.
kathy :-)

ButtercreamCakeArtist

Tim, you are so right!
I think the average person owns a machine for 10 years. That's what it said in a magazine with a section about looking for a sewing machine. I think it is really longer than that.

Elaine~ it all depends on how well you love your old machine.
My Mom has a Brother she bought new about 26 years ago. She recently got a new one. She wanted something with a few of the new functions. A few different stitches, an easier reverse, something a little lighter. It was the cheapest one, about $77. I'm sure she will have it forever. She still has her old one.

I did upgrade to a newer one. I wanted the embroidery function. ;) I still have my cheaper Brother. I'm keeping it, too.

You could get your old one cleaned/repaired and have the same as a brand new machine.

ButtercreamCakeArtist

or...then there is the possibility that it might be cheaper to buy a new cheap one cheaper than it costs to fix the older one? Is the older one a cheaper one or a more expensive one?
Fix the old one, save for a new one, then you'll know which you want most! :D

PurplePassion

Thanks everyone for your quick response, it is a cheap machine. I bought at Jo Ann's years ago. for around $100. It has done alot of hard work. I bought a new Singer computerized /embroidry one about 17 years ago . for $2000. I am not as happy with that one. But it makes a good back up. I guess I will have to wait and see what they say is wrong with this one. I have seen some of the newer ones at Walmart , some for quilters. But I don't know if they would work any better than what I have.
Thanks again, Elaine

Carla P

If you decide not to have it fixed and you do buy a new one, please consider donating your old one. (A lady I work with threw away on older machine this past Saturday; it was in with a bulk purchase from an estate sale, still in its own hard case, and she never even opened it... I almost sank into the floor thinking about all of the people that 1 machine might could have benefited. :evil: )

Anyway, to answer your original question, in the Memphis, TN area, it will cost you about $45 for an electronic machine tune-up & around $70 for a computerized. Worth it? Well, my Dear Hubby says (in reference to his old '89 Ford 350 Diesel) it is cheaper to repair than to replace (at that statement Daughter #1 chimes in with... "F.O.R.D.- Fix Or Repair Daily"). Of course, this is the same truck I named "Mater" when we bought it this past Summer. :lol: My point is, he loves that old truck (and drives it 10 times more than his brand new Chevy) so it is well worth it to him to repair. It "only" has 130,000 miles on it, so he says it'll buy him at least another 300,000 miles. Your machine "only" has 15 years on it... My Mother has a 28 year old belt-driven Singer that is still going strong. She has it serviced once every 2 years, and has used the brand new one her DH bought her for Christmas last year only 3 times. (I'm just waiting, because any day now she'll call me to come "get it out of her way".... :D )

desertdebbe

Are there any good books out there that show a person how to do a tune up or repair on their sewing machine? Doesn't Chilton know how to repair just about anything?

Rebecca Chambley

Singer is one of the better ones, so I'd hang on to it and get it fixed, I clean and oil my own machines about every 3mos, I have 2-brother machines, 1 is about 15 yrs old and it works great, and a newer brother, about 2-yrs old. I also have a singer in a carryig case, nice heavy duty one, It works great to. I want the brother embrodery machine, so thats what I'm working towards.