Trouble with my Pfaff
 

I went to sew the other morning, and I can't get the presser foot to stay down. My DH and I went to the store where I bought it. The man told us you can't get parts for old Pfaff machines, but he could try to fix it. Paid hundred dollars up front no warranty. I didn't realize my loved Pfaff was at least 25 yrs. old. Time flies when you're having fun. We think he wants to sell me a different machine when we go to pick it up. Has anyone had a problem like this?

I haven't had that problem with my machine, but I did have a similar issue with someone not wanting to repair it. Since it was out of warranty anyway, I found a local guy, not a service tech in a shop, who repairs machines. He was recommended by several other quilters and did a fabulous job for a very affordable price.

Along these same lines, I parked my car at work and couldn’t get the key to turn off ! After trying all I could think of, I called my husband & he told me drive it to the mechanic 15 miles away so I did that. It was repaired.

My beloved Pfaff is over thirty years old. A few years ago my repair man said "yeah, I can still get that part". Words that put fear into my heart. That is when I found out that Pfaff had been sold to a conglomerate that includes Singer. So I bought a Pfaff 4.2 Quilt Expression floor model on clearance. Learned that they are not the machines they once were but are OK. Then a major failure with my old Pfaff. I think it is the motherboard but have not had it looked at. My repair guy came down with cancer and died. I thought to have my mom's 1910 red eye treadle really spiffed up and shipped it to a guy who swindled me out of the deposit. Even had to drive from Ohio to Virginia to pick it up because the Court may award you the judgement but it is up to you to enforce it. There is so much good engineering in those 20 - 30 year old Pfaffs. Sad to have to get rid of them because there is no product support.

I have run into the parts not being made with both vintage cars and sewing machines. While it might be possible to find someone that has a collection of old machines for parts and willing to sell or repair your machine, it all depends on how wedded you are to the machine and how much you are willing to pay for the ability of keeping that older machine. Here's what we've found with our cars--if it's truly a collectible and you plan to treat it as such and it has monetary value as a collectible--we pay the price to find that old part or have a new made (very pricey!). If it's not a collectible, then we get rid of and replace. I feel the same with my machines--while I love my original (bought used) Deluxe because it was my first, I know I can't get parts and am not attached. When my 10 yr old Elna--which I love it, love its features--shoots craps, I will replace--I've gotten tons of use out of it and it's paid off for me. Good luck!

You didn't say which Pfaff you have. I had trouble with my 1471 about 9 years ago that I couldn't raise the presser foot to unjam the machine. Finally got it up, but then it jammed again. Turns out it was a crank roller or IDT roller. At the time, I was able to find the part and replaced it.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I've seen my boss fix that a few times. It's pretty common. You have to release the needle bar, remove the old oil with a solvent, blow it out real good, then put it back together with new oil. Not all techs know that trick. Not all are willing to work that hard. Some would rather sell you a new machine.

There is a world-wide group of real artisans who use and repair old Pfaff machines, even going so far as to engineer parts. Try this link (cut and paste):
https://groups.io/g/OldPfaffPforum
I have a 50-yr-old Pfaff 1222 and two shops said it couldn't be repaired, but it could and was, by someone who actually understood mechanical machines (not computerized ones).