I recently had two machines serviced, and my local guy charges $99.95 per machine for a regular going-over. My Featherweight (FW) was new from eBay and since I had no idea of the service history it was well worth it. I bought my Janome from the local guy and had not had it in for service since purchasing it two years ago. I don't think I will bother taking the FW in on an annual or semi-annual basis; as long as I oil and clean it according to the manual I think it will be ok. As for the Janome, I will probably still get it serviced (although I'm using my FW for all my piecing now as it is such a joy to sew on, so the Janome doesn't get used nearly as much).