need some advice! bernina on lawaway

Betsey, Presumably you bought at the LQS as there is not another Bernina dealer local to you?? Is perhaps the Viking dealer near you also taking over the Bernina line. Can't recall if my Viking dealer does Bernina or not. I know in most cases the Bernina's reside in LQS's. If I remember correctly you are in So. Jersey? There is a LQS/Bernina shop in Burlington, NJ - not terribly far from you but certainly a hike. Very nice shop BTW - Old(e) City Quilts. They do have great classroom space. Not sure but I believe their policy is if you own a Bernina you get free classes regardless if you bought it there. Might want to check their website or call them. I've found them to be very helpful even over the phone.

Your planned pick up date isn't too far off of their planned closing date if simply getting the machine is a concern. Sounds like you'd only have to 'float' that for a few days if they will let you wait that long to pick up.

Obviously the LQS where you're planning to purchase will have to answer your questions re service/classes and if they've made arrangements for that elsewhere. That might make your decision for you.

Kim in NJ

hi Kim--

Olde City quilts is about an hour....i will be interested to hear what the LQS has to say. a big draw for me for buying the bernina, besides a good deal, is that they are/were soooo local to me (atlantic county quilts) that if i had a problem, i would be able to be there in a minute.

the local viking dealer is in collingswood, and another in bordentown. again, each an hour away, but well established. and again, my back up thought is "well, all of my feet would fit!".

I'll report back, because yes, I will be stopping in there this am.

betsey

I bought my Janome 6600 from a dealer that went out of business 4 months later. Janome was no help or support when I had problems. It was shameful. Bernina might be better but honestly I wouldmnot buy a machine anywhere that I didn't get support unless it was really, really cheap. I learned a ton from my Bernina classes for my 930 years ago. A computer machine would probably serve you really a lot better with the classes than not. There is so much these machines do. Good luck whatever you decide. Happy stitching! Taria

Hi everyone-

I just rec'd an email from my LQS--they are closing their doors as of june 30. i have a demo/classroom bernina 450 on lawaway there. my original plan was to pick it up on 7/1 when i recieve a company bonus. However, i'll have to bail it out sooner. I'd like everyone's thoughts...my concerns are:

who will now service my machine. i do not know if the quilt shop has made arrangements for this. who will now provide me with my new bernina owner classes? I think bernina calls them "mastery" classes.

I now have a lot of reservations about buying this machine. if i have a problem, do i even have recourse? what do you all think????

the flip side is, I could ask for my money back and go to a different dealer, or buy a different machine. I'm a viking owner now, I could buy a new viking and in all liklihood, be very happy.

Betsey

Betsey, my understanding is that warranty work can be done by any Bernina dealer; the warranty is through Bernina USA, not through a dealer. However, the classes are a different story. I'd suggest asking the shop to arrange a discount on your machine equal to the cost of buying the classes from a different dealer; that seems fair to me.

Unfortunately this is all to common. Sewing machine dealers are dropping like flies all across the country, in fact the whole industry is contracting. Soon enough there will be so few that one will have to either travel great distances or ship their machines for service, of course most of the manufacturers are also leaning towards unserviceable disposable machines.

I did stop by the shop. While she offerred to take a little bit off, she had made no real arrangements for mastery classes (you can come to my house, or come in next week) and perhaps most important, made no arrangements or "heads up!" to other bernina dealers for service. In addition, i was told quite bluntly, "i can sell your machine for more on ebay after the shop closes". OK, let me have my money back. I was then told, i would have to wait until next week when the bookkeeper was in.

Initially, I really wanted to make this work. now, Just give me my

now, i'm looking at pfaff's, vikings and janomes. I'm a quilter who likes to dabble in clothing construction.

betsey

Or - you can play the same game she is. I've bought three Bernina sms on ebay. No warranty, no classes. There's a massive amount of Bernina tutorials on the internet. Most classes are not expensive. Really. It is a scary way to buy a sm but some days just getting out of the bed is. Polly

Unfortunately this is all to common. Sewing machine dealers are dropping like flies all across the country, in fact the whole industry is contracting. Soon enough there will be so few that one will have to either travel great distances or ship their machines for service, of course most of the manufacturers are also leaning towards unserviceable disposable machines.

Betsey, it's really a shame that she's taken that attitude. :( I love my Bernina, but I have a good dealer, and that makes a huge difference. You could do as Polly suggests, or you could do as you note above. I hope you find just the right machine for you! :)

I'm glad you found the SM that is "just right!" Barbara in SC

I'm so glad for you, Betsey! My DT has a Viking/Husqvarna (different model) and loves it. Since you're also a Viking person, I'm betting you're going to have a happy time together with your new SM. :)

thank you sandy!

"betsey" I too, would love to have a sewing buddy who lived close to me! Barbara in SC

I posted this on alt sewing and don't know how it showed up over here! Sorry about that! But if you would care to come visit me for a week we can do a lot of sewing together! Barbara in SC

cuVyPSnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com...

oh, i would love a sewing vacation!