Sewing machine - fix the Bernina or buy something shiny and new?

[SilverSixpence]

I have an ancient Bernina minimatic which i bought for £100 18 months ago. Its been a bit dodgy recently so sent it for servicing, and they have come back to me saying it will cost £165 to repair! apparently the shop that sold it to me (claiming it had had a full service ) had taken out the motor condenser, whatever that is and it also needs other parts replacing.

its a v good, but basic machine, and i'm not sure it will be worth spending that much on it. i could get a good new machine with that money surely? any recommendations? or do you think i should just pay out and use the bernina for another few years?

Has the shop gone out of business? Otherwise you surely would be able to get your money back under the Trade Descriptions Act.

I have a Bernina and love it so will pay for repairs etc but if yours is a basic machine and you haven't got attached to it I'd put the cash towards a new one - my other machine is a little Janome Jem Gold - it was just under £100 a couple of years ago and is brilliant for basic stiches.

thanks, I've emailed the shop. The problem is, I bought it on Ebay, so not sure if I would have the same rights. They do have 8000+ good ratings on there, so was surprised when I found out that the part was missing. It had some other niggling problems too, but could live with those, just thought it needed a service, but this is silly.

TheButterflyEffect, which sewing machine have you got? I don't want/need hundreds of stitches but would love needle up/down, automatic threading and some of the other newer features.