Brother 2600i

I bought the Brother 2600i sewing machine late in August, 2008. Now, just a little over 14 mos later, it quit on me in the middle of a project. Since the warranty was only 1 year, I'm out in the cold with regard to getting repairs covered.

When I took it to a Brother authorized service center, I was told it was a cheap machine and not worth repairing. It would have cost me as much as I paid for the machine simply to take it apart to determine what was wrong with it. When I asked why, the repairman said so much in the way of covers had to be removed to work on it, that he had to charge that much.

Not only had I had the machine only 14 months but also I was working on only my second full project on it. I have done mostly clothing repairs on it and have not subjected it to heavy or abusive use. I bought the Brother 2600i because I have no need for multiple fancy stitches and this had more than I need. Why is it that a simple machine that does only what I need is also a "cheap machine"? Do I really have to go "big, fancy, expensive,etc", when I don't need much more than simple?

I had only one Kenmore sewing machine for over 20 years. Toward the end I had to have it cleaned more often but needed no other repairs in all that time! I got rid of it when I moved cross country. Big mistake that will soon be rectified. I was so disappointed in this machine I will never buy another Brother machine.