Machine Dealer Rant - long

Kate Dicey wrote:

I don't understand why a dealer would quibble about warranty/guarantee
work. If you take your proof of purchase, so they know when the machine
was bought, surely they can do the work? Don't the manufacturers
reimburse them for that?

I can't speak for the dealer, but they'll know if you weren't the
original owner of a computerized Bernina. The machines actually run on
Windows CE and they put your name and registration information into it
before you leave the store.

What the *company* policy is on transferred machines is another issue.
I can't speak to that, but I can probably find out.


--

blackrosequilts
My train of thought left the station without me.

http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts
2005 BOMs: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/blackrosequilts/my_photos

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I bought my machine here in the UK, but if I had stayed in the US, Nancy
would have gotten my business too. As it is, they still get more than
half my fabric/threads/books money, even though I live 5 timezone away.
I love this store!

Hanne in London

Pat in Virginia wrote:
I have a Singer Serger that I bought before I moved to Virginia, but had
never used. I took it to my LQS which is also a dealer for both Pfaff
and Berninna. (I've introduced several RCTQ folk to this LQS, Nancy's
Calico Patch. NAYY) I got a private lesson in Serger Basics (threading,
etc) for about 45 minutes (the dealer left me to play every now and
then, but was ALWAYS there to answer questions) price: $15; goodwill:
priceless. PAT in VA/USa

witchystitcher wrote:

Bought a Brother Serger on Ebay So I called my local Brother dealer
and said, I just bought a new, but
second-hand Brother 2100 serger. Could I come in and pay for lessons
in how to thread it.

Sure, they said - $100.


...cut...

Hi Taria, The profit is quite substantial on the Berninas. On the 440 the
employee cost is around $2600. You can do the math from there.

Linda

Yes they do reimburse for the repairs. My warranty is registered under the
name of the original owner. However during the 2 years I had to have a
board replaced in the emb. module. I was very happy that I didn;t have to
pay for that, but if I did have to, I wouldn't do it at that dealer. I
won;t even take lessons there anymore. Every once in a while I will go
there with a friend and she always tries to make nice. Too late.

Linda in Tx

blackrosequilts wrote:
Kate Dicey wrote:

I don't understand why a dealer would quibble about warranty/guarantee
work. If you take your proof of purchase, so they know when the
machine was bought, surely they can do the work? Don't the
manufacturers
reimburse them for that?


I can't speak for the dealer, but they'll know if you weren't the
original owner of a computerized Bernina. The machines actually run on
Windows CE and they put your name and registration information into it
before you leave the store.

What the *company* policy is on transferred machines is another issue. I
can't speak to that, but I can probably find out.


But isn't it transferable, like it is with cars? We've had a couple of
those bought 2 years old with 3 still to run on the warranty, and it HAS
to be honoured by the manufacturer. Same with sewing machines here, as
far as I can tell.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

My machine was so new, the registration had not been sent in yet. I
actually sent in the papers.
What if I had moved, and found a new dealer? She was just petty and not
thinking in the long term. No harm for me, as I found a great dealer who
valued my future business.

Linda

Thanks Linda. I honestly had no idea. That and the overhead still
leave room for a nice profit.
Taria

nana2b wrote:
Hi Taria, The profit is quite substantial on the Berninas. On the 440 the
employee cost is around $2600. You can do the math from there.

Linda

One thing to be careful about..... often machines that are listed as new
and at a really great price may be stolen. I know of at least one that
came into a dealership for service and when they checked it had been
reported stolen. The person that brought it in didn't know, but was out
the money they spent on the machine and out the machine.
Please check with the company for any of these great deals.
I also know that the local dealer (Viking) does check the net regularly
for serial numbers of stolen machines.
Not all are bad deals, but I would hate for any of my friends to be
caught in such a deal.G

Pati, in Phx

nana2b wrote:

My machine was so new, the registration had not been sent in yet. I
actually sent in the papers.
What if I had moved, and found a new dealer? She was just petty and not
thinking in the long term. No harm for me, as I found a great dealer who
valued my future business.

Linda

Oh yes Pati, I was well aware of that. I thoroughly checked out my machine
before I bid on it. The Seller gave me the number of the dealer in Ca.
where it was purchased. That would be an absolute nightmare if that would
happen. I also paid for it with my MC after I checked with Citibank to make
sure I was protected against something like that. Whew!

Linda in Tx

Linda, are you talking about the one on Hwy. 112? I love some of the fabrics
they carry but I won't go there because of the snootiness. I plan to get a
Brother Embroidery machine soon and will go back to Pocono Sew and Vac in
Stroudsburg, PA. It's a bit of a drive but for the customer service and
selection of machines, notions and everything else, it's worth the drive. I
bought my Viking MegaQuilter and frame there and would have gotten the
embroidery machine too but at the last minute DH decided he didn't want me
to finance anything. But the guy was very patient, answered all our
questions and was just great to deal with. Everyone there was great. NAAYY
but they have my business over 112 anytime. In fact, DH stopped in there one
day and picked up some bobbins for me and they were very friendly to him
then. You might want to check them out.

Mika


"witchystitcher" wrote in message
...
Bought a Brother Serger on Ebay from a dealer who had closed up shop.
One of these fancy, schmancy, do everything jobbies. I usually have no
problems using sewing machines and have owned sergers before. BUT, the
directions were just awful on this one and I could not, for the life
of me, figure out how to thread the lower looper.

So I called my local Brother dealer and said, I just bought a new, but
second-hand Brother 2100 serger. Could I come in and pay for lessons
in how to thread it.

Sure, they said - $100. A little steep, since I just needed someone to
show me how to do the threading, but figured, OK, maybe I'll learn
something else while I'm there.

Bring the serger in, which is STILL the TOL Brother serger on their
website, and they had never seen it before and didn't know how to use
it. Now, I did mention the model number when I called.

I'm sitting with a store employee and explaining to her where I
couldn't follow the directions in the book, when the owner comes in
and looks at it and proclaims it a piece of junk. Says that's why she
doesn't carry it. Now, she is a Brother dealer, and this is their TOL
serger.

Still, they are the only Brother dealer around and the employee
offered that if I left the machine, she would figure it out and call
me, so I did (my DH says I shouldn't have).

On the way out, I stopped to look at the Innovis 4000D, which is the
TOL, do-everything embroidery machine. I am working this summer, which
initially I wasn't going to, and will make just about enough to afford
the machine. I then asked about trade-ins. I have a Brother 8200 with
an 8500 update. The owner came out and started telling me that the
machine had no value and then started berating me because I didn't buy
it from her. She actually said, "I can't believe you expect to trade
in a machine you bought from the internet." I never did tell her where
I got it from.

Now, I love my Brother machine, and although the Disney designs doen't
do anything for me, I like the stitch designer in the Brother, but at
this point, I will be much more likely to get the machine, if I do get
it, from a Babylock dealer.

But, at least today, they did figure out how to thread the serger and
a 20 minute session ended up costing $100.

Then, I find out from the store mechanic, that Viking sells the same
made by Brother serger, so I could have checked out a Viking dealer
instead.

Oh Well,

Linda