kellen46

As for the older 830 Record it is a great machine and I will never give it up. As for the new computerized 830 the story does not end happily. I found the big new 830 to be a real picky princess of a machine. It was thread picky, prone to breakdowns. Pray you never get the "gears of death" screen. My dealer was over the mountain almost 3 hours one way. The tension would go wonky on a regular basis. I figured out to fix it by turning off a feature. I gradually learned to turn off various features to keep from getting error messages. Not a good sign for a very spendy machine. Finally I was sitting at the machine thinking did I really want to sew on it at all. The answer for me was no and that is when I traded it in for a less picky machine. Not another Bernina but from a local dealer. Yes my new machine works fine and does what I expect it to. No it does not have all the special bells and whistles the 830 had. I was a loyal Bernina customer up until that point. I sort of miss having a new Bernina sitting on the sewing table but it is what it is. I hear the brand that I have now is coming out with a new TOL all the bells and whistles machine. I was asked if I was going to upgrade and the answer is no. I have decided that I just want to sew, clothing, toys, and quilts, do some embroidery now and then and only have to have it serviced once a year. I do not need to be updated on my phone that a color change on the embroidery is needed. One, I don't own a smart phone, and two I can hear the machine from most everywhere in the house so I know when the embroidery is done. I don't need to store patterns on the cloud. I have a drawer where all the software is stored. If I have an auto thread cutter, a needle threader, and a really bright led light then I am happy. Having a lot of fancy stitches is nice even though I don't use them all that much. Having said all this, good for you if you like your 830LE, if you want to embroider everything in sight then good on you and enjoy. May you never have the gears of death in you life.

lfletcher

Friends of mine that own Berninas love them. I don't think you made a mistake. I'm a Janome lover. People get use to their machines and have different preferences. I wouldn't let one negative comment influence you. Your Bernina is a great machine and the brand is very well regarded!

rjwilder

You bought an excellent machine. I went to a flip and stitch quilting class and that is the machine we used. It's an amazing machine and you will love the embroidery module. If you've never machine embroidered before it will be a bit of a learning curve. Once you get your machine you will love it! They are well built machines, the only negative thing I have to say is the bobbin is different from any other machine on the market and you have to buy them from a dealer.

annette1952

I wouldn't worry about a review. There isn't a product out there that satisfies 100% of the people 100% of the time. I don't have that machine but I have always heard good about Berninas in general. Also you have all of these great people on this board to help you so you aren't alone. Have fun with your new machine.

jamsbuying

I think you will love the Bernina! Give it and yourself time to get use to each other and take classes to learn all you can. Enjoy!

MamaLinda

I too made a snap decision and purchased a Bernina QE550 simply because I had a Bernina from 1968 til 1989 and always regretted buying a Husqvarna at that time. So far my only complaint is the huge size of the feet. Almost feel they are too big to see around. Hopefully will get used to them when I get to start using the machine again in the spring. Good luck on yours!

Quiltngolfer

I think they had some problems with that machine when it first came out, but I'm sure they have worked them out by now. I have a 13 year old Bernina and it is still a wonderful machine. Take your classes and learn what all it will do, and enjoy! I hear it is an awesome machine.

Friday1961

This reminds me of my current automobile - a minivan. It wasn't even an impulse; I had researched that automobile for weeks, thought I knew what I wanted. But after driving it home I had such buyer's remorse I wouldn't even look at it or drive it for days. It just sat in my driveway, unloved, unwanted, a big expensive rejected white elephant! But I got over my fit and gave it -- and me -- a chance. And now I love that car! And my family does, too.

Forget the review you read. If you've bought the machine and can't return it, then give it a chance. Sew on it, learn it, get used to it. Berninas are (I hear from people who own them) wonderful machines. I'm betting you will love it!

imsewnso

YOu are going to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this machine. It is SOOOOO FUN!!!! Glad to hear you bought from a dealer. There are a lot of VIDEOS on line you can watch. Bernina has a fantastic website and answers to all your questions are there....sometimes they are just hard to find.
Start here: http://www.bernina.com/en-CA/Products-CA/BERNINA-products/Sewing-Quilting-and-Embroidery/BERNINA-8-Series/BERNINA-830#!tutorials
Did you get the mastery instructions? Your dealer should have them on a CD for you. If not you should be able to download from the Bernina Site.

imsewnso

Also join the 8 Series Bernina group on Yahoo.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bernina_series8/info

Lots of help and info here.