extended warranty for sewing machine?

[fireweed]

I'm a beginner, and just got my first machine(a bernina 90e). I'm wondering about getting the extended warranty on it though. The warranty covers 4 years of parts and labor and 2 services and costs an additional 150$. A service is 75$, so if i were to get serviced twice it would pay for itself. How often should a machine get serviced? And does anybody have opinions or experience on the likelihood of berninas, and the 90e in particular, breaking down within the first 4 years?
Thanks!

[junipervt]

if you can afford it I would get it. according to my mom (a prof seamstress) & DH's aunt (also a prof seamstress) you should get you machine serviced / cleaned every year, or more often if it is a machine that sees heavy use. they both sew on berninas

[sewchris2642]

I've never gotten one for any of my machines. And my oldest machine bought brand new is over 20 years old. The only time it has gone in for repair was for the foot control. The spring broke after 20 years of almost constant use. It can't be fixed and Sears no longer makes that foot control. It's machine specific. I do maintenance on my machines regularly. Clean out the bobbin area when I change bobbins. Take the bobbin assembly apart and delint the bobbin area and the needle bar area per the owner's manual, etc. about once a week. Oil according to the owner's manual. My new machines only need a drop of oil in the bobbin area. The rest of the machine is self oiling. My old machines (my oldest is a 1950 Featherweight) needs oiling in more places. The Featherweight also needs lube in the motor. I do it all on a scheduled maintenance just like I do for the cars. I've been a professional dressmaker for over 30 years.

[sabrinat]

I think I would weigh if this is a long term investment vs do you plan to upgrade within the 4 years time. Not to argue points but it sounds like what you actually purchased was a bernette "made for bernina" which is really a Chinese made machine and not one of the true Bernina engineered machines and certainly not Swiss made.

http://www.berninausa.com/product_de...2-i19-sUS.html

I make this point to say if I were in your position I would consider how I use the machine, what I paid for it and how long I plan to keep it. Most maintenance stuff you can really do yourself, especially on a basic machine that's not computerized and yours doesn't look to be.

[fireweed]

hmmm, i hope i didn't buy a dud! Maybe that is reason enough to get the extended coverage. It has a lemon guarantee. I was kind of hoping this machine would last me a long while, so maybe i should get it serviced every couple of years plus do regular maintenance myself.

anyway, i'm still kind of on the fence, but thanks for your replies!

[sabrinat]

Originally Posted by fireweed

hmmm, i hope i didn't buy a dud! Maybe that is reason enough to get the extended coverage. It has a lemon guarantee. I was kind of hoping this machine would last me a long while, so maybe i should get it serviced every couple of years plus do regular maintenance myself.

anyway, i'm still kind of on the fence, but thanks for your replies!

Oh, I didn't mean to make you think there was something wrong with your machine. There are plenty of decent machines (in fact the bulk of machines) that are made in China or Taiwan. I guess I'm pretty cheap and pragmatic. When I purchased my main machine I got it from a B & M store, but purchased over the phone from her and it was in another state (I shopped around, and she had the absolute best price, beating my local dealer by $400) I knew I wouldn't be buying an extended warranty since the likelihood of me packing up my machine was next to nil. I do the routine care of my machine myself and I'm pretty consistent about getting in there and getting the dust and lint out. I've had it for 6 years and I took it in once for "spa treatment" because I felt guilty about not doing it. I have a local person I can take my machine to if I need to, but I guess my motto is if it ain't broke don't fix it. I've been sewing since I was a teen. Most stuff you really can do yourself. I wouldn't mess with the motherboard of my SM myself, but cleaning and oiling, why not!
You may outgrow your machine if you begin sewing a lot or you might find you want more power. I guess if you're nervous about the quality of the product and you have the $ for the warranty and it will give you peace of mind, you should get it.