I wish this were a photo of my Viking Platinum sewing machine home from repair, all ready to go back to work, but it’s not. These are photos of my new sewing machine when it first arrived here. In reality, it is still sitting in the repair shop, where it has been for over two months. Unfortunately, it looks like it will be MIA for an indefinite period of time.
Everything in regard to repairing it has been ridiculous so far. As I mentioned before, there was a problem with the feed dogs. I turned the machine on to work one day, selected a stitch as usual, and the machine just began sewing backwards, with the machine feeding the fabric in reverse. Nothing unusual happened at the time. I had really just started my day. I don’t think I even had anything else turned on yet, and the machine was on a surge protector. I wouldn’t have had the iron on, since I hadn’t as yet sewed anything to iron. No lights dimmed, no circuits popped, nothing strange happened. I brought it to the local Viking dealer to see if he could fix it, and he thought, at first, the feed dogs had been accidentally popped out of place when I got some fabric caught in the throat plate.
Later he told me that he thought the entire electrical panel needed to be replaced, along with the buttons, to the tune of maybe $250-300. I had the option to send it back to the dealer who sold it to me, but it seemed safer to just let this dealer fix it, rather than mail it across the country. I contacted the Viking company about transferring my warranty, which would have covered parts in question, to the new dealer, but they said they would not honor it since I bought the machine over the Internet. They told me their dealers aren’t allowed to sell machines over the Internet, and they implied that, for all they knew, it was stolen. They told me they only honored warranties on machines bought from authorized dealers.
I gave them the serial number, which is right on the mailing label with their distribution center’s address on it, along with a bar code that they must have scanned at some point, so they could trace it to the dealer address which was also on the box. I had managed to successfully register my warranty on the Viking web site, using my serial number, and I received an email confirmation of my warranty registration. So, I thought, the serial number must have already been in their computer system. I asked them how anyone could sell hundreds of their machines, for years, without any authorization from them, and without their knowing who the dealer was, or without them reporting machines that were possibly missing. Where else could he possibly be getting so many machines, but from them? I got no answer to my questions, just an apathetic response repeating that they wouldn’t honor their warranty.
Apparently, the dealer here who was ordering parts for my machine asked them some similar questions, and was told that the person who sold me the machine was in fact a Viking dealer…he just isn’t anymore. So, because of that they couldn’t honor the company warranty, supposedly because they don’t know what might have happened to the machine between the time they sold it to him and he sold it to me, as if that is something they could tell about any machine. The label on the box says it was sent from their factory to their distribution center in 2007, before going to the dealer, and I bought it from the dealer in 2008, new and sealed in the box. That seems like a normal turn-around time to me, not really enough time for it to have been used, abused, reconditioned, and repackaged from the factory without any note about it being refurbished anywhere on the box. It was working perfectly when I got it, and it seemed brand new to me. Plus, the dealer I got my machine from is still selling them, along other models that came out after mine. If he was no longer a dealer at the time I got my machine, how did he get machines that came out after mine?
Anyway, it seemed obvious that no matter what, the Viking warranty was useless. They told me my only option was to send the machine to the original dealer for repair, since he had his own warranty on it. I decided to just wait for the parts, and get my machine back. Over two months, I called and called, but no parts arrived from the Viking company. Finally, when I went in to look for a new presser foot, I was told my parts had just come in, but the dealer was too sick to fix my machine. After a couple of weeks, and some more calls, he told me it had turned out that the new parts didn’t do the trick, there was still something wrong with the feed, and that he would probably need to send my machine to Tennessee for them to figure it out. I asked how much all of this would cost, and he told me we were “already at $700.” I asked him if he could take those parts and send them back to the company, and he said he would. He’s not going to charge me anything, thank goodness, and now I don’t have to pass out cold on the floor.
So, right now, I’m out a couple of months time. Plus, I’ve had so much frustration with the Viking company itself. I’ve never heard of such nonsense over warranties and repairing a machine. Why don’t they just have a place you can mail the more complicated electronic and computerized machines to for repair yourself? And all this warranty intrigue…what’s that? If the company has a conflict with a dealer, that shouldn’t be my problem. The warranty should be on the machine, and not dependent upon how they feel about the middleman involved. How can I know who is following their rules and who isn’t when I buy a machine? How can I even know what their rules are? There is nothing in the language of the warranty about the Internet either. It’s not like it’s illegal, or even uncommon, to sell merchandise on the Internet, although their email to me made it sound like I should expect underhanded dealings if I dare to buy something there.
You find out that you are completely dependent on the dealer from whom you purchased your machine, and their own warranty on it, which makes purchasing a machine about ascertaining if someone is personally a good egg or not. Even so, if that person retires, I’m not sure what the Viking company says about your warranty, since they seemed to have said that if someone is no longer a dealer at the time you purchase your machine, the warranty is no good. And how can any potential customer know this about anyone? The idea is, supposedly, that you can transfer your Viking warranty to a dealer closer to you, if you live more than 50 miles from the original dealer, but that didn’t work for me, obviously.
I feel like I’ve fallen into some kind of sewing machine soap opera. I wish it were over now, but I have to start from scratch. This time I’m just sending it to the original dealer, and I’m going to hope that he is honorable about his own warranty, and that he knows how to fix my machine. I have the service manual myself, but they make their machines so they can only be opened with tools they sell to their dealers. The electrical aspect is well beyond my scope at any rate.
I don’t know what people who sew are supposed to do anymore. Viking, Pfaff, and Singer were all bought up by the same company. It was so important to me to get my machine before they began their production in China, but it seems like even though I like my machine a lot, the customer service of the company just doesn’t measure up if you have a problem. Two months to send parts to their dealer? We’ve been talking about getting a Kenmore as a stand-in, but there are so many complaints about Sears’ customer service now as well. They’ve been bought up by Kmart. It just seems like every company gets bought up by someone bigger, and their products begin to be made more cheaply, and their customer service becomes more detached. And even when your dealer tries to do right by you, he or she still needs to get parts from the company. The dealers must suffer because of these things too. So, who knows how long it will be before I see my machine sewing forward again, if I do. Fingers crossed.
18 Comments
Howdy, I sew on Janome and love their service and machines. Might give them a try?
Hi, Ruthlynn. Thanks. The Kenmore we were looking at was made by Janome, I think, and it looked pretty nice. I think Janome makes the same one under their own name, or has something similar. I'll have to check that out some more.
Hi,
I came across your blog post when I did a search to find the number for the Tennessee repair shop my machine had been at for over 2 months. Your blog (especially the part about feeling like you're in a sewing machine soap opera!) hit home and actually inspired me to be even more firm and demanding about getting answers. I, too, have been run around by Viking. My local store has given me one excuse after another about where my machine was, how they "felt my pain" about how long it was taking. And then I got some great ones about how they couldn't contact the repair shop one week because "they were doing inventory" (yet they couldn't find my machine) and another week they couldn't call because "their phones were being installed". I finally went down to the store and demanded that the manager call the repair shop in my presence. Bizarrely, she took at least 5 minutes trying to find their phone number. When she got them on the phone, they said they hadn't even looked at it yet. I told her to tell them to look at it, figure out what's wrong and whether it's covered by my 10 year warranty and/or what it will cost to repair and NOT to repair it without calling me. I kept telling them that I've been out of work for a long time and couldn't pay a lot to have it fixed. So, two weeks later I get a call that the machine is back at my local store and it will be $150 for the repairs that have already been done. Seriously. So, I called the number I got by googling "Viking" and "Tennessee". It turned out to be a store and they told me that they were "not allowed" to give out the number for the repair shop! But, the kind woman told me the town it is located in (Lavergne) and I got the number that way. I demanded to speak to the person in charge of repairs and was connected to very nice Bob. I told him how frustrated I am and everything that's happened. I also mentioned your blog. He said he'd look into it and would get back to me. I never heard from him again but the local manager called me and gave me some story about how she talked to her boss and they agreed that I shouldn't have to pay anything because of "all the misunderstandings". This is the same woman who two hours before told me that it was unfortunate that they fixed it without calling me first but that's the way things go. Arrggghh.
Anyway, I thought you would appreciate my story. And thank you for yours. Now I get to pick up my machine and get back to learning how to sew.
(Oh, in the world where I am unlucky at everything important like jobs, I now have two working sewing machines because while I was waiting for my machine, a nice woman on Freecycle posted that she was moving and wanted to give away her Brother machine and I got it. Of course, now I have two machines I barely know how to use!
Sam
My wife’s Husqvarna broke down and I took it to the dealer where we bought it in Charlotte, NC. They’re charging me $170 for a “tune up” on a machine that’s maybe 2 years old. Talk about pissed! I’m going to talk to the latter this afternoon to demand an explanation for why a brand new machine would require a $170 “tune up” for a messed up clothing feed issue and a screwed up nail threading mechanism.
I had no idea that by buying a sewing machine I’m also buying very expensive “oil changes” along with it. Doesn’t sound like complaining to Husqvarna will do much better. If my conversation this afternoon doesn’t go well I’ll be filing a complaint with the local BBB.
My dh bought me the DSE a couple years ago for Christmas. So far the problems I’ve had with it have been bearable, but when I stop into JoAnns to shop, the Viking sales person sees me and just about every other word out of her mouth is “that will violate your warranty”. She says you can’t use a non-Viking USB, you have to get it cleaned yearly, you have to have it cleaned by an authorized repair person, etc. It sounds like the warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
Honestly, if I had known how expensive the upkeep is on this machine, I would have returned it and gotten a different brand.
I have a one year old Husqvarna Viking that has been in the repair shop since November 2nd, waiting for a fuse. when I talked with the dealer this week, she informed me that the “warehouse” in Tennessee cannot possibly carry every part for every machine, especially when it is not the latest model – which it happens to be! Now my Designer SE has also been in for repair since December 1st and I have no idea how long that will be gone since it needs a new uptake lever. These do not seem to be reliable machines. I am so over this. When I get them back, I plan on selling them to the dealer and getting a totally different brand of machine. I had a Bernina for twenty years, never had it “serviced” and never had a problem with it.
So sorry, everyone! Jennifer, that is ridiculous. A lot of people have told me they wait forever for parts from the company. They must make them from scratch to take so long! That’s too much. My older, mechanical Viking, Sarah, has been reliable anyway. I don’t know what I’ll do if I need another machine. It is very disheartening. The older machines, by every company it seems, must have been made with much more care, or perhaps the electronic and computerized machines are just more susceptible to problems. I wish I could find a good mechanical sewing machine that did some decorative stitches, like a blanket stitch. It’s hard to trust any are good anymore. My newer Kenmore electronic sewing machine Model# 19233 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02019233000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=L1 has been reliable so far. It was made by Janome. I hope everything works out for all of you!
I bought a Kenmore embroidery machine several years ago. I loved it. It worked great for four years, then it just quit. I sent it, through my local hick-town Sears store, for repairs to southern California. After eight weeks and no word about what was wrong, I pressured the local Sears store to look into it. Two weeks later I got a call from the California service center that they could not figure out what was wrong with the machine, could not fix it, and would be refunding my money for it, pro-rated for the four years, under the 25-year warranty. I paid $1,500 for the machine. I got $1,250 back in the form of gift cards, which I could not use because I didn’t want to buy anything else from Sears. Finally a year later a friend of ours wanted to buy appliances for a new house, and she bought the gift cards. When she tried to use them against her new appliances, she got a huge runaround about not being able to use gift cards to buy appliances. She finally won that battle.
So, I took the money and bought a Husqvarna Viking Designer SE from my local dealer–the only sewing machine dealer in my area capable of sixing the machines they sell. I have been very pleased with it. I took it in for servicing after 400 hours of embroidery–I mostly do embroidery on it. After another 200 hours (600 hours total) the motor went bad. It has been at the dealer waiting for the new motor to be delivered for three weeks now. They aren’t totally sure that the motor is the problem but are pretty sure it is. I would be interested in hearing about anyone else’s problems with the Designer SE. Thanks. I enjoyed reading the comments above.
The motor was the problem with my SE. It took six weeks for Husqvarna to get a new motor to my dealer, who installed it the same day, and I picked up the machine the next morning. It is working perfectly now, although it sounds a bit different. I am happy to report success, although the six-week wait was very trying. Happy sewing. Pat
I bought a Viking Sapphire 875 in July 2009. It has been to the dealer many times. They checked it in five times. The issue has been that the thread gets thrown out of the uptake lever jamming the machine. Viking has a “fix” for that now, but it still occurs. I was lead to believe I had a unique problem. The tension is not right, probably because of that “fix” which catches the thread. It was to be shipped to TN and in two weeks I would find out if they would repair or replace. Now two weeks later it is still at the dealer, not shipped. They did not have a box to ship it in.
This really hit home with me!!! My machine (#1) has been at the repair shop for 4+ months! I cannot get an answer as to where it is other than it was sent to Charlotte from Asheville. The local shop doesn’t know if my machine is in TN or NC. I am beyond frustrated. First Viking/Huskvarna sent the wrong motor for my machine. He supposedly couldn’t get it to act up while he had it and wanted me to just pick it up. There was clearly something wrong as I had to turn the wheel to get it going even after I replaced the foot pedal which I thought was the initial problem. I have since purchased a used Bernina which sews wonderfully but would like my Viking back since I had purchased all the extra cards for it. Am now wondering if I will ever get it back.
Pat, I am so glad you got your machine working! Yay! Vicki and Tina, I hope you will both get your machines back in working condition very soon! Tina, four months? So sorry! I hope they get their act together. I wish these companies would do better for their customers.
I purchased a new Husqvarna sewing machine, a Sapphire 830, from Sew ‘N Vac Superstore, in Knoxville, TN, in 2009, and have had the same reoccurring problem with it from day one. It will sew perfectly for a while, and then it will sound like the bobbin is coming out of the bobbin housing, especially after sewing a straight stitch, then going to speciality stitch, then back to straight stitch. I have had it to the store several times to try to get to get it repaired. A couple of times they kept it and pretended to work on it, but when I got it back, it worked well for a while, and then started acting up again. The last time I took it to the store, the lady who sold me the machine to begin with, tried to tell me that I wasn’t getting the machine threaded correctly. I asked if it wasn’t threaded correctly, then why did it sew for a period of time, and then just begin acting up, when the machine had had the same spool of thread on it all along, and had not been rethreaded. She said that at some point the machine had become unthreaded, due to the fact that I hadn’t threaded it correctly. Excuse me…I have been sewing for over 30 years! I own a sewing machine, a Gammill quilting machine, a serger, among others, and I have never had a problem with threading a machine until I purchased this one. It was a floor model and the last one they had, due to the company replacing it with a newer model, the Sapphire 835, and I still paid $999.00 for the machine.
I do wedding alterations and cannot afford to have my sewing machine not operating correctly as much as this machine has. It has spent more time just sitting on the floor of my sewing room, waiting for me to travel all the way to Knoxville, only to get nothing accomplished. Finally, having all I could tolerate of this machine, I ventured once more to the store. Their solution to the problem…trade it in…for a more expensive machine! I would get nothing for it on the trade, and end up paying more than I paid for the machine originally, basically giving them this machine and purchasing a new one. This was the STORE OWNER’S idea! I asked to speak to him, after I didn’t get any satisfaction from the sales person at the store…I DONT THINK SO!! I filed a complaint with the BBB in Knoxville. We’ll see what good that does!!
CHECK YOUR SERIAL NUMBERS!!! I bought a NEW Husqvarna Viking Designer SE. It went in for repairs. Two years later, I find out my NEW machine was replaced with a REFURBISHED machine. I called Husqvarna Viking in TN, and they said they can’t do anything about it. What do I do???
We are on vacation right now, but go back home tomorrow. I will call the Attorney General for advice, and also file complaints with BBB and Consumer affairs. This is soooooo wrong.
It was the Viking Factory that switched the machine on me. I am telling everyone I know to check your serial number when it goes in for any repairs!
My 5 year old Pfaff has had so many problems and I was looking into Viking when I found this blog. Thank you all for taking time to comment. I will be looking at Brother now or perhaps Babylock. I feel like I have dodged a bullet.
I am looking for my first embroidery machine. Thanks to all of you who took the time to comment. I too feel like I have dodged a bullet. As a consumer I often feel at the mercy of manufacturers and ever decreasing quality. This blog has been a positive step to help us all voice our concerns and steer business to the worthy manufacturer. Many thanks and blessings to you.
I feel heartburn comming on. I bought a close-out floor model from a JoAnn’s in Orlando, Fl (75 miles from my home). It now takes 3 or 4 stiches and pulls the top thread down under and then tries to push the material down the hole. I have not done a lot of sewing with it but the economy has made me start sewing for my granddaughter. Now I have no working machine. Thank goodness I still have grandmother’s mechanical machine in closet. I can fix it better that this newer Viking Sapphire 870 Quilt. I also have my Mom’s Viking 1200, their first machine, that quit sewing also.
Where is America going? We no longer make our own things. Maybe we need to get ourselves trained, create our own jobs, and make our own parts. They do that for car parts why not sewing machines. Where’s an engineer when we need one! Jeri
Okay–this is not going to help those who are suffering through the Viking runaround ‘loop’. Personally, I think the last Viking that was made that was worth displaying the “Viking” name was in the ’90′s–the Viking 1 or 1+. I still have mine–(although had to send back to the factory a few years back as NO one has a clue how to repair anymore–even the Viking dealers—so sad. Anyway, STAY AWAY from PFAFF!!!!! I went through a HUGE nightmare with them (and we know that VSM –Pfaff/Singer/Viking are all under the same umbrella now). I had (in 2007 )the top of the line 2170 AND the 2156– right from the first few weeks I had nothing but problems with BOTH machines. A dealer finally admitted that Pfaff’s hook assemblies were a big problem—I can’t count the number of times my hook assembly’s died AND the timing too. I spent boatloads of $$ trying to resurrect the 2170—finally in 2008 I contacted the VP of Pfaff and after a big hassle, they replaced both machines (one had already been replaced once). So after all that the machines still continued to be a problem. Sold them for parts (this is over $8,000 invested reduced to practically nothing).
Just a heads up.
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[...] far as I can tell. And he didn’t charge me anything. He honored his own warranty, even though the Viking company would not honor the warranty on their machine. I just had to pay to ship the machine to [...]
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[...] to have it repaired it in the first place, instead of taking it to an authorized dealer here, who wanted to charge me over $700 to replace different parts entirely, not the two faulty step motors. And maybe I’d have a working machine by now, instead of [...]