KenZ

My wife and I purchased a Singer 500 Slant-0-Matic in 1961 and the machine has never gone into a shop. After purchase a Singer repairman came to our home and showed my wife how to take the machine down and do the maintenance herself. He had her do all of the work herself. He stated that it did not need to go into the shop unless it had a problem she could not now fix. The machine has been used heavily and home maintence done regularly for over 50 years. She also does maintenance on her own Featherweight when ever the sound changes. I maintain my mechanical machines and the newer Janome's go to the shop when they have problems. They never come back better than when they went in, but the problems are sometimes fixed on the first try.

fien777

I bought my pfaff hobby 919-1 about 17 years ago.
I sew really everything on it: clothes, quilts, curtains.
And use it a lot.
As I asked my dealer/serviceman about coming back every year, he told me I didn't need to.
he said they only clean and oil it, things you can do by yourself...only when it doesn't work properly anymore they can repair it.
So I clean and oil it myself, and I had several friends over that say my machine works smoother, with making less noise as theirs

Rose Bagwell

I don't do it, I clean it, open it and de-fuzz , oil it and clean all the parts , then use the vacum small hose on parts that I cannot reach. I will take it in only if it is broken, I do take care of my machine as much as possible.
But I suppose to each it's own, we all have different ideas on this subject.

donnalynett

I'm afraid I would mess up the computer system if I took the machine apart to clean out lint and batting fuzz. I clean out the bobbin carrier and underneath after every project. I think I would rather pay the annual service fee of $112 and be on the safe side especially considering what I paid for the machine. I do use mine daily and sometimes for several hours at a time.

catladyquilts

for what machines costs now, it's a must to have them professionally cleaned yearly. I want mine to last as long as possible

momto5

This dummy believed Bernina when the manual said that my machine didn't have any user-serviced parts...so I took that to mean that it didn't need service! (Duh!) Anyhow, my service man was NOT too happy when I finally took it in, 14 years later! But...in my defense, it never missed a beat. And I DO keep them super clean, so he said it wasn't too bad but "let's not make it so long next time, okay?" Live and learn...(and try not to kill off your machine in the interim... :? )

sherian

I have a singer 221 - received from Mother in law - had it cleaned and it was 89.00, I take my babylock embroidery
every year had a 3 yrs. gold standard. I paid this year for service and cleaning it was 100. If you have a service
use it, on my last free service, I told him to fix anything
he could. He replaced the autothreader and bobbin rewinder. He said they wear out first usally.
It is going to ebay. It is a great machine, and it has been used for 4 Yrs. I moved up in the babylock line.

k9dancer

Cost of maintenance will vary by location and type of machine.

If you have a Singer Simple (like from Walmart) it is designed to be replaced rather than repaired. Keep the lint out of the bobbin/needle area and it will last a few years.

writerwomen

Do the regular maintainence on your machine by cleaning and oiling and you can avoid the cost of yearly maintainance. Go to the web and you will find people who have written about their machine and trouble shooting. Use your local shop by all means but also be wise and just like a car or other machine you can avoid issues by keeping it up.

paulettepoe

If you use canned air, and keep it oiled well...every year is not necessary. I am waiting to take my serger in for a checkup...but thats a serger..they need it more I think.