Kris P

Hello Ladies. I've been a member of this board for quite some time, but have never posted before. I have been researching sit down mid arm machines for quite some time. I have narrowed it down to the Gammill Charm or the Innova sit down. I thought I had decided on the Innova 18 inch, because the price is more attainable, until my friend offered to sell me her 22 inch Charm for the same amount I would pay for the Innova. She purchased the Charm about 18 months ago and has used it once for a table runner. She is moving across country next month and as joke, I asked if she wanted to sell it. Imagine my surprise when she offered to sell it to me for $2000 less than what she paid for it.

I was with her when she purchased it and while I love to FMQ, she prefers the precision of the Statler computerized. I think she got excited about the idea of the Charm and purchased this demo model on a whim.

My biggest concern is the warranty, service and support on purchasing a machine from a private party. I know both companies have great products. Any information you can give me would be most appreciated.

PaperPrincess

I would contact her Gammill dealer to see if the warranty is transferable (after 18 months, it may be out of warranty). They may offer classes if you pay for them, and I would guess that they would service the machine.

dunster

If it were a longarm, I would say go for the extra inches, even though I much prefer Innova to Gammill. However, I don't know whether this makes that much of a difference in a sitdown. If you typically work on large quilts, I think it would, but if you generally make smaller ones, then I would go for the new Innova, other things being equal. It sounds like you should try out both machines and decide which you like better.

yel

i have an INNOVA long arm and the service is great not to mention i love my machine .....sister has a gammill so i can compare apples to apples and i will keep mine over hers

soccertxi

I have had both brands...but not sit down. As much as I liked my Gammill, I love my Innova more. It needs to be oiled less, its very easy to service (along with 24/7 customer service) and with a sit down machine, the more throat area might not be needed. I would try out both and see which one YOU like better. JMHO

Kris P

Thank you for your replies. I have had the opportunity to use both machines. I quilted a baby quilt on the Charm shortly after she purchased it. and I recently went to the Innova dealer and test drove the sit down there. I'm still torn. I can currently quilt up to a queen on my Janome 6600... the center is always difficult, but as Dunster suggested, I don't know that I'd need the extra 4 inches of space.
While the CHarrm is the more expensive machine, and has the tablet, and voice control, the extra technology seems unnecessary, and I've often thought that the oiling schedule seems strenuous for the Charm.
My husband does think it's way too much money to spend... on any machine, no matter what one I choose. I don't want to make this decision under the pressure of a time line, just to take it off her hands.
Big decisions make me crazy.

caspharm

I definitely prefer the Innova brand. I rented an Gammill with no SR and then tried the Innova. I was sold. Little to no maitenance, easy to upgrade (no need to buy a new machine if there are any upgrades you want), and of course, the tech support. There are also 2 yahoo groups for Innovas, one supported by ABM and another run by longtime Innova users.