Buying advice for a newbie

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Standard advice around these parts is, take yourself to one or more sewing dealers armed with types of materials you are likely to sew and try out as many machines possible. Every machine/brand has their own quirks, strong and weak points, just as each sewer; therefore you need to find the perfect "match". Some may like Elnas others find that brand horrible, but Pfaffs seem to have everything where they need it and things just float to their fingertips.

What kind of sewing will you be doing? Heirloom? monogramming? Embroidery? Casual sewing with maybe repairs/mending? Quilting or fancy stitchwork? There is nothing worse than buying a machine only to find out it does not have the stitches/capabilities to do the things you want to do. Of course this does give one a reason to go shopping for another machine to add to the collection, but that is not the way everyone wishes to go.

Used machines can provide a great value, if you know what you are getting, and the unit has been recently serviced and comes with some sort of guarantee it won't be DOA or die on you within a few months. Buying a used machine from a dealer is an excellent choice, long as the dealer has a good reputation and will stand behind his/her sales. You can also do thrifts/eBay and garage sales, but again you must know what you are looking for and how to test a machine to see if it is working correctly. Many people selling things on eBay pick them up from garage sales or thrifts knowing little or nothing about sewing machines. Often they will just chuck the item in a box and how it arrives is how it arrives. However if one is careful there are some good deals to be had, one just needs to exercise caution and ask questions, LOTS of questions.

As for warranties, some machines have warranties that expire after a certain period, and or to obtain service one needs the original sales receipt. As used units, the dealer probably is saying the machines are no longer covered all or in part by the original warranty, but he/she is offering something along the lines of: machine has been professionally serviced and tested, if anything goes wrong within "X" amount of time he/she will repair or replace said unit". It may also be that the dealer sells used units "as is" and unless it arrives at your home DOA, you will not get your money back.

As a new sewer, I'd buy a used unit, one can always upgrade as skills grow and you gain a better perspective as to what you need in a unit. There are some great buys out there on excellent machines, many hardly used or in the case of vintage war horse units, with lots of life left.

Best of luck

Candide

New or used either of them will be a damned good machine that will do more than you want for some time, and still allow for growth! :)

The manufacturer's warranty runs from when the machine is new, like that of a car. Once used, the warranty will be whatever is left of the original warranty period, if the dealer chooses to honour that and make it transferable, and/or whatever warranty they usually offer on used machines.

First of all, make sure your Bernina dealer (or any other dealer) knows the machines like the back of her hand. Ask her to demonstrate an automatic buttonhole, the stitch memory, the blind stitch, and how well the machine penetrates heavy layer of fabric--- if you haven't already. This is not for just finding out machine features but for determining how much she (or her instructor) knows about the machine so you can see how good your free lessons will be. Ask what happens if you, by some odd fate, would get a lemon. Find out the warranty. There should be a one year warranty on everything including labor. I don't know what the rest is for an Activa but both of mine have a 1 yr everything, 5 yr electronic, and 20 year mechanical warranty. You should also ask who services their machines and what his or her qualifications are. It would be even better if you knew others who had their machines serviced at that shop. Trust me, a great machine in the hands of a lousy technician can spell disaster. I learned this first hand. Ask if you will receive a store discount, on accessories or other things, for the life of your machine. 10 to 20% is standard for Bernie dealers. And ask how much they charge for annual servicing. If you don't know anyone who sews, you could check with a local quilting group since some of them will have Berninas.

Compare up to three models at once, here, but note that the Virtuosa is not on the list:

If that doesn't work for you, go to the main page and then click on "Products":

Frankly, I'd lean toward the Activa over the other machine if you are going for a Bernina. It is very solid, you get free lessons and a great warranty. Just make sure the dealer is good and reliable. My first Bernie is nearly 25 years old, has been used nearly every day for most of that time, and has only ever had one repair (the power board) other than standard servicing. Good luck and have fun sewing :)

Phae

Thank you all for your advice! I still have not made a decision, but the tips on how to go about selecting a machine are going to be invaluable to me, as I am so new to sewing.

Again, thank you! Marie

You're very welcome. I hope you get one that makes you very happy and that will give you many years of fun and creativity. :)

Phae

Here, here!

Don't worry about not rushing a decision, these things take time. While you are pondering your choices, ask around family members and friends; more likely than not someone has a sewing machine stashed away somewhere. While it may not be exactly what you want at the moment, it will allow you to practice and decide what features are important versus frippery. Look around and thrifts and garage/estate sales, you probably will find a machine going for nothing, and the advice from above applies. Now if you happen to come across a Bernina 800 or 900 series, or Pfaff 1200 series you may wish to consider nabbing it. These are work horse machines and very good to learn on.

Best of luck, Candide