Is this a good price for Bernina 440QE?
I’ve visited the Pfaff and Bernina dealers now. I can’t find a Viking dealer around, they went out of business. I haven’t checked out Janome yet, I will do that. I really like the support system Bernina offers, however. The BSR blew me away, I was free motion quilting like I’d been doing it my whole life (that was my first time)! The Pfaff dealer will only give me three free classes and frankly, as a novice quilter and since I’m used to my ancient mechanical machine, I don’t think that’s enough. Besides, the Bernina gal is very sweet and a friend of mine has had a wonderful experience with her. Soooooo, she has available a demo machine, 440 QE, which is brand new but will be used for two days at a quilting class at a local quilt fair, along with a bunch of other Berninas. It’ll then get a check over to make sure it’s okay, and be available for me to take home. $2399. including quilting foot (BSR), walking, patchwork, and applique feet. What do you think of that price? Can I offer lower, do you think??? This is my first really nice machine ever, so it’s a process I’m not familiar with. I’d love some of your advice, you’ve all been so helpful to me!
Ginnie
Replies
well what does a new machine go for? And how much do those extra feet cost regularly and are they ones that you would use anyway? What will the warranty on the machine be?
If it's only a couple hundred bucks off a new machine and the only benefit is the extra feet that you didn't want anyway I'd say you might as well buy one new. You might also check out the prices of them on ebay and allbrands.com
Thanks for the input... the machine would sell regularly for $2999 through this dealer. The feet included in the price have been tailored to my requests/needs. I'll go check out the prices on ebay or at allbrands as you suggest. Warranty is good and I get 25% off any accessories thereafter.
I like the ongoing classes offered through the Bernina dealer, all of which are free and can be taken as many times as I like, should I need it. There are monthly "clubs" that are no charge, and you can go and learn new techniques of using the machine, etc. On the other hand, both these shops are new ones and it seems sewing shops in my area don't live very long. Most of the quilters in my area seem to like Viking, but that dealer (who was here longest) has also closed, and now I have no one nearby selling Viking. The Pfaff lady seems really pushy, I didn't like her approach much, and they say you're also buying a dealer, not just a machine. I figure I can't go too wrong with any of the better machines/manufacturers, since absolutely everyone seems to love whatever it is they own. I hope that's true!
As a quilter and Pfaff owner I would think 3 lessons would be plenty. So, don't count them out. The simple, unobtrusive walking foot is worth it to me compared to the bulkier options that other manufacturers have. I would talk to some fellow quilters in your area and see what they have. You might also want to check the machine reviews on Patternreview.com. Good luck.
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