Husqvarna Viking - rumor or?
 

I was chatting with my sister about sewing machines the other day, and she was told by her local repair guy that the brand was not thriving and that if anything happened to her machine, he might not be able to fix it in the future. Her machine is about 20 yrs old, maintained but used well. Do you think he was just trying to plant the seed that she should buy new? Is there a certain age at which one can no longer 'get parts'? He was a repair man, not a salesman at the shop...

I hadn't heard any rumors about the Husqvarna brand and it's future...has any one else?

Thanks in advance!

I have not heard re not 'thriving', ..there is a dealer in my town. However, absolutely theremis a certain agr when parts are "no longer available". The companies will carry for maybe 15 or so years, but with new models brought to the public almost daily, they cannot continue manufacturing parts forever. So her repairman was being truthful--there will come a time when he cannot get parts.

I don't know about any rumors, but I do know that in 2006, SVP was formed by a merger with Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff. They merged with Kohlberg, who purchased Singer in 2004. Kohlberg & Company is a private equity firm who buys out large companies. Many consumers are oblivious to the fact that the sewing machine brand name that they think is synonymous with quality, is now owned by a holding company that knows nothing about sewing machines, but has purchased the brand, and outsourced the manufacture of the machines to places like China and Vietnam for the sake of cheap labor and to turn a hefty profit by selling the name brand to the unsuspecting consumer. That is one of the reasons that you have to wait so long to get your machine repaired when it needs parts--because unless it is in stock, the part has to be put on a ship from Asia. It takes time to be delivered to your country. There is no connection between the people making your machine, and the high quality engineering and standards of your Grandmother's vintage machine. Some of the last true Swedish Engineered Husqvarna Viking sewing machines were produced about 20 years ago. They were the designer series machines, like the Quilt Designer, and Designer I & II. I am happy to say that I have the Quilt Designer.

I bought the Topaz at Christmastime and I have had no problem with the quality. Its gotten to be my workhorse. I've had the Tribute for several years and have never had a problem. Maybe I just got lucky. My Mega Quilter is about 20 years old and it will sew anything. But then it's the older machine.

I'm going to put my 2 cents in. Have not heard the rumor, however, the quality has definitely changed. I've had multiple Vikings over the years and still use my Designer 2 (This is my 2nd on which I bought used for $300). Love the machine, however, I realize that sooner than later it will be harder to get parts. I remember a few years back it took 9 months to just get a part for another machine. Being that I sew professionally this is unacceptable. Because I know that sooner than later I will not be able to repair the Designer 2 I switched brands and bought a Janome 9400. I also have a basic Singer S16 that I use for my commercial jobs.

SewingSew, I, too, am the happy owner of the Quilt Designer. It is and has been a great machine. Did have problems with it when I first bought it in 2003, but they finally figured out where the problem was and she's been purring along ever since.

I have the SE which I purchased in 2007...I think that was the last model made in Sweden. I LOVE IT and have never had any issues w/having things fixed. I also have a Lily I bought in 2000 and still going strong.

The problem in switching brands once you have a particular brand is that you've put so much money into software, feet, hoops etc...there's no turning back. So if anything happens to my "dear SE" I'd have to spring for the newest Husq so all those supplies would work w/it.

There are a lot of mechanical parts for those machines that can be purchased from Brewer Sewing Supply. I've had people bring their Viking, Husqvarna and Pfaff machines to our shop, saying that their dealer couldn't get parts. If I can get them from Brewer, it makes me think that they just don't want to fix the machine. I'm talking about the older mechanical machines. I can still get a camstack gear, and my boss is still willing to replace them -- not all shops will.

But when it comes to circuit boards, stepping motors, screens, etc. the only way to get those is through your dealer.

The OSMGs don't want to repair the new computerized machines. And The newer techs don't want to repair the old, mechanical dinosaurs. It's a rare tech who's willing to do both.

I have a Viking that was purchased new in 1977. It was their top model at the time. I love that machine and it was my primary machine until 3 years ago when I bought a Janome for the large harp area. I had my Viking regularly serviced each year and have had no problems until a few years ago when the foot pedal started overheating after I sewed for a while. When I went to get a new foot pedal I found that they were no longer available and there was no substitute that would work due to the fact that the foot pedal and power cord are one unit in that machine. Some things I just want to last forever and that machine is one of them.

Another option for replacing machine parts on older machines would be to purchase a second used machine from eBay just for the parts. Hobbycat1955, I know what you mean about all those extra accessories costing so much. They can be quite an investment, and often cost more than the machine itself. Being able to get your machine repaired if you need to is important.