Just want to cry. Or scream...or both!

This is really just a big vent.  I don't think there's any help to be had until I take this thing to the dealer.  But here's my sad story.  I'm just so aggravated, I need to get this out!!!

I was given a brand new Bernina Activa 210 as a gift about 2 years ago.  Up until last night, it has been a dream.  Perfect performance, beautiful stitches, etc.  Just like you hear from every other Bernina owner, right?

Last night I was finishing up a project, doing a zigzag stitch, when all of the sudden it wasn't zigzagging; it was just going in this straight-but-not-straight kind of line.  LONG story short, the needle just won't move any farther to the left than about the middle of the presser foot.  I tried everything; I pretty much know what I'm doing, so it's nothing like "resetting the machine" or anything like that.  We have no Bernina dealers in town; the nearest one is an hour or so away.  This one was bought from a dealer 4 hours away.

SO, having nowhere to turn, in desperation I took it to a local Viking dealer, just in case he could tell me what was wrong, hoping that it would be something simple.  It's not. He thinks it could be the needle motor???  So I called the dealer that my machine came from, and the repair lady walked me through some things, and she agreed that it's a mechanical problem.  So I can either UPS the machine to her (not gonna happen, $$$), or I can take it to the dealer an hour away, where they have to send it out to their repair guy, and it takes AT LEAST a week, if not more.  They told me to bring my receipt in to see if it's still under warranty, but 1. I don't think it is, and 2. the person who gave this to me SWEARS that she gave me the receipt, but I am telling you, she didn't.  The receipt is nowhere to be found.  So even if it was still under warranty, I am up the creek.

We're about to get snowed in here, and I'll be without my machine the whole time.  Plus another week or two until it can get fixed.  And my stomach is just in a knot, wondering how much this is going to cost.  A tune-up alone is $70.  This is a lot for me.  Who knows how much a whole repair is going to cost.  I thought Bernina's were supposed to be such wonderful, problem-free machines!!!  I'm sure they are, but why is this happening to MINE?   Undecided  Cry

First of all, like all quality machines, Bernina probably has a 25 year warranty.  [I had a similar issue with a 17 year old Viking and it cost me $0 to repair because it was under warranty.]

Second, send it for factory service.  It should not cost more than $35 to have it professionally packed and shipped via UPS.  It's worth it, believe me. 

Time is the only difficulty.  It will probably be out of your home for at least a month, but it will probably cost you nothing more than the shipping cost.

Thanks!  It's been a day or two and I'm a little calmer now.  I'm sure it's still under warranty; it's only been two years!  But I don't have the receipt (it was a gift - and the person who gave it to me doesn't have the receipt either!) or any paperwork...does this matter?  I think I remember filling out a warranty card, but I might not have...I really don't remember.  Do you think they'll still honor the warranty?

If you registered the machine when you received it, the dealer should be able to check the serial number with the company...or you might be able to do it yourself. If nothing else, the company may be able to tell when the serial number was shipped to the dealer and that would give you an outside date for the warranty. Good luck. and remember that we all have issues like this occasionally.

Well, it was the weirdest thing!  Finally the roads were clear enough that I could take my machine to the dealer.  This was after about 3 days.  I went in to pack it up, and thought, "I'd better turn this on one more time just to make sure..." and I'm so glad I did, because it went back to working perfectly!  So weird!  My mom thinks it reset itself after being off for a few days...I'm just glad it's working again. 

I celebrated by calling my hubby and apologizing for all the whining & bellyaching I did over the situation.    Lesson learned!

At least you discovered it before driving there!  It's always a bit embarrassing/deflating when something like this resolves itself... But you are lucky that *you* are the one who discovered that it was resolved.  (I hate when someone else does *exactly* what you have done on your own, but then it works for them... making you feel like a fool.)

I spent at least an hour trying to thread a Bernina serger with no success.  I consulted the manual, checked the diagrams on the machine, re-threaded and re-threaded and re-threaded.  But could not get the threads to form a proper chain.  I may even have cried a little...  Finally, I gave myself one more try and did just what I had done each time before and it finally worked.  I felt a little silly, but I guarantee that had my husband walked in and made it work "silly" isn't how I would feel.

Bernina is the Rolls Royce of sewing equipment.  It is fantastic that your machine righted itself....but should this problem recur remember that your warranty will cover it.  I'd contact Bernina with your serial number and get a copy of your warranty; or at the very least, ask the person who gave you the gift if they still have the sales slip.

You'll probably never need to use it, but it's peace of mind. 

I'm so glad that your problem got resolved!

Yes, like someone posted- we ALL have our
moments!( I had one of them the other night
for about an hour and a half- trying to do
some simple topstitching... things finally
worked out, but it was a test of patience!)

It's nice to know that others have them too
and that others care about them!!!

There's nothing like having something like this
happen to make you appreciate when things ARE
working:)

Elaine << who is glad that there are so many
folks on this forum who are glad to share
what they know to help others!

I'm glad to hear that the machine is now behaving nicely for you.

One comment though- those 25 year warranties are not a bumper to bumper type of warranty.  Often certain parts are cover for shorter periods (electrical is usually 2- 5 years), and "wear and tear" is excluded.  Check the fine print before making any assumption.