My wife has always wanted a Bernina since she saw one demonstrated probably around the time we first met.
She doesn't do embroidery, does do general mending and sewing.
I see used model 530's and others on eBay at "reasonable" prices compared with the fanciest models new which cost around $4,000.
The ones I see advertised say they have been serviced.

If any of you (or your "better halves") have any advice on buying such used machines, please share.

Thanks

If there's no answers, I'll try to remember to ask our resident sewer/quilter at the office on Monday.

My daughter is good friends with the owner of a small shop in Ponca City Oklahoma who carries Bernina and absolutely loves them.

https://cqsew.com/index.html

My wife has had one for about 20 years. They are great Swiss machines. In fact she has one of their embroiderers and a serger too. They're spendy but you do get what you pay for.

One of my friends at work does a lot of sewing. She, too, swears by Bernina. I've heard nothing bad, ever, about Bernina.

Ken S's wife here. I am a big baby lock fan and because of that I have joined multiple groups on FB and Instagram that cater to Baby lock users. If your wife is on FB, my suggestion is to search for Bernina buy/sell groups and join. The baby lock sell/chat group I am in requires the seller to use paypal as paypal does offer recourse (though limited from my understanding) if there is an issue (don't get the machine after paying, if shipped there's damage, etc). Many times users on these groups stay members and interact even when not in the marketplace for a new machine. I was able to ask questions on videoes and training for a new to me machine I bought.

Also suggest checking with your local sew/quilt shops and let them know what you are looking for and to let you know if one comes in. You can contact shops that don't sell new Berninas, as they probably get all makes and models in for trade. The big plus side to this is while you will probably pay a little more, most come with some kind of guarantee AND they are gone over and any issues are fixed before you take home. You may also qualify for some classes with purchase.

I just bought a used serger off of FB marketplace. This gave me a chance to do a little background on them (i.e. I could see they had been a member of FB for years, had a good seller rating on Marketplace by buyers) and was able to see we had a mutual friend.

I personally am a little hesitant for buying off of ebay, but if you do make sure you do your research. Have they been selling for long? How are their ratings? Read reviews.

Hope this helps. Let Ken know if you have any questions and I will try to help.

I bought my used Janome from a local sewing center where it was accepted as a trade in on a new machine. I paid $300 for what had originally been a $2,000 machine. I quilt and have used the hell out of it with never a lick of trouble.

Unless this is some sort of a surprise gift, I’d just tell her to get it. Let her get it from the shop she wants etc. if a Facebook purchase doesn’t work out for some reason or it craps out not your fault. Maybe drive her to the shop and say, “get whatever you want honey” that may retain the surprise effort.

My mother loved hers. Had it for about 20 yrs. my Aunt inherited it 10 yrs ago after moms passing and it’s going strong still. My Aunt is a quilter so it gets LOTS of use

My wife bought a used model a couple years ago.
She surfed the web (next door) for several months to find a family which was selling their deceased mother’s machine. She says she payed way less than retail. Good luck.

My mom still has and uses hers she bought about 50 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
My mom still has and uses hers she bought about 50 years ago.

Mine too.

I like the idea of driving to the sew shop and let her pick.

Have someone take a good look at it that knows sewing machines. Likely %10 of the ladies do %90 of the sewing. The others enjoy it but aren’t obsessed, those machines are the ones to find.

Between the top brands it’s SIG vs. HK vs. Glock, no real bad choices. It’s nice to find a machine with a servicing dealer under the roof. These old ladies will be happy to direct you. They know the deals and the dealers.

At one point in my life, a very good friend and his wife owned a sewing machine business. She did the selling and he did the service. He raved about the Bernina machines as the best on the planet. That was years ago, however.

I don't know the brand names of the machines I tossed money at. Its OK, happy wife, you know the drill. I didn't even need to drive my wife to the shop, she drives herself. This long and expensive story started years and years ago, like in the late years of the last century. But remember the machine is only part of the story.

It started with her wanting a new sewing machine to replace the one we got for a wedding present, long ago. Then another and another. Each costing progressively more. Then one day she wanted to go to a gun show with me. Sirens and warning bells going off. Turns out there was an sewing show at the huge motel across the street from the fairgrounds/gunshow.

Now we're talking real money. I think that one ran about $7,000. I was a good hubby and just paid up and took my lumps. Next we need to talk about supplies. I went to an auction for a place that was going out of business. I'm not real good at auctions, but I can stand and fight with the best of them. About the 3rd table in after losing the first two, it was time to duke it out. At auctions, every one knows or see's who is bidding. So when the next table came up for bid, I got in early. It was going to be possible to out bid me, but they were going to pay if they did. The others saw I was serious, and I just kept bidding. It didn't take long for the others to drop out and I got what I thought was a bargain. It was thread I was bidding on, and a stack of backer fabric. (It keeps the thread from tearing out.

The sorry part was I had to somehow pack it all in a station wagon. I had the stuff packed from the floors to the ceiling. Commercial shops buy colors in boxes of a color at a time. The good part was I didn't have any on my lap for the drive back to work. I'm not very economical when it comes to stuff for her hobby. We have a very large plant, back a long drive. I pulled in and got out, only to discover I was pulling thread along with me. It went the hundreds of feet out to the road, then up the hill to the east. So I lost part of one "spool". No, not the spools ladies buy at the sewing shop, the large 5KM spools. But it was OK, I still had maybe a dozen more of that color. At 5KM each.

We could probably leave a trail of the breadcrumbs all the way to the west coast. So when you buy the machine, send me an email and I'll have my wife ship you a lifetimes supply of odds and ends of various colors. We can spare it, honest.

Then there are other supplies, like Tshirts. Went to a flea market and a guy was selling towels. It seems like the evil Chinese put a large towel maker out of business. That guy was nice and quoted me some prices on golf towels. Most had grommets in one corner. Again, a full carload. But only about 20 cents each. We're talking hundreds, but I don't give those away. Shirts, too. Around here, flea markets have both covered sites and outside ones. Take a stroll and see what locals have near you. Don't expect to score big right away. Just line your pockets with $$$ and go looking. One corner of the basement won't be big enough after a while.

Send me an email with shipping addy.

Janome Sewist 721 is the extent of my knowledge. Bought a new one for my ex-MIL to replace her mom’s 1950s White. It’s easy to get hooked with these machines.

Mulqueen’s was the shop, in Mesa AZ. Big outfit. Very trustworthy. I’d start my search through a big outfit which will offer a warranty.

Do any of the local shops have sewing clubs. Maybe she can drop in and test drive a few machines.
Also the best time to buy machines is after a sew expo, see if they have one in the area.
My wire has several Vikings and yes they get expensive.

Find the local sewing machine store and take her there and tell her to get what she wants.
You already know the high end price.
It’s your wife she will buy this once and it will outlive her.

A gift like this is the time to let her buy what she real thinks she needs, not make the best of what you pick for her.

HK Ag

My wife is on a waiting list for one of these. They are in very short supply from authorized dealers.

With the complexity of the machine and required annual maintenance she decided to stick with a bricks and mortar dealer.