Pfaff 130 purchased today---advice needed
 

I bought a Pfaff 130 today at a yard sale for $20. It has no cabinet. It's missing a foot pedal and a belt. It will also need to be rewired because the electrical wires coming out of the side of the machine were cut. I suspect that someone was trying to get the machine out of its cabinet and just chopped the wires off to get it out.

I took it in to the sew/vac shop in my neighborhood, and it will cost about $150.00 to get it serviced, wired, and to have parts replaced. The repair person was very confident that he could get it working great.

Do you think this is worth it? I haven't given the "go ahead" to the service person yet.

The machine is pretty and cute and shiny black. However, it is SO heavy!

Does anyone have experience with a Pfaff 130?

Only you can decide if it's worth it to you. I have no experience with this machine but a lot of people love them. I used to pay to have machines serviced and repaired until circumstances forced me to learn to do it myself. I enjoy doing it but not everyone does.

Cari

In my opinion, yes it's worth it, maybe... it is a fairly noisy machine, it's presser foot doesn't lift very high and parts can be hard to find are the cons... on the positive side; it will sew through just about anything you can fit under the presser foot, it sews a beautiful stitch and if you find you don't love it you should be easily able to sell it for a profit even after investing in repairs. A quick eBay check shows machines selling for well in excess of $200 even in not so great shape. The maybe comes in because for some folks presenting the machine to best advantage for maximum return is a challenge, and as Cari said above only you can determine if it's worth it for you.

I don't like doing that to a machine, myself, I am more of a clean and oil person so I wouldn't have bought it to fix it, but if you like it go for it. A lot of people take their machines in for service when they get a different one because they aren't into fixing them either. Worth is up to you, it is like anything else you have to keep it cleaned, oiled, etc, like a horse you have to feed, a car you have to keep up with, etc.

I have heard many good things about those machines. Have fun.

My Pfaff 130 is my "go to" machine. It sews fast, which is a great advantage in some applications. It is a great machine. Last year my husband and I replaced the motor ourselves with a generic one. It is supposedly less powerful than the original, but I can't tell the difference. It is a short shank machine, and I am using a walking foot and quarter inch foot that are not original.

I have one and I love it. It sews a great seam. Very heavy but mine is in a case.

I have two embroidery machines, a treadle and am the original owner of a Pfaff 262, but I HAD TO HAVE the 130. A 50 year Pfaff dealer in San Antonio serviced my Pfaff 262, and out of the blue asked him about the 130, if he ever sees any, etc. He said he has one in the lab, that needs rewiring, servicing. After doing such, he would sell it to me for $150. I jumped on that one! That was about four years ago, and it is my GO TO machine. I found a cute Pfaff cabinet for it at Goodwill for $15, and the cut and oval opening to reach the bobbin inside the door are perfect. I love to FMQ on it because it is so heavy and steady. Pretty much same for my Pfaff 262. I love the way the 130 sews.