Sadly most machines aren't worth much these days unless you pay thousands of dollars for one. So much plastic in them now. I have an older Kenmore that two repairmen have told me to hang on to. Great machine.sadly, I can't get parts for it anymore. I also have the Confidence Quilter machine. I have had it 3 years without much trouble. I have a problem with thread wrapping around a spindle on the inside from time to time. I just leave the end cover off. Love the self threader!!

As Susie said, most machines are so cheaply made now and it often costs less to buy a new one rather than having one repaired. I have three machines and like all three. Each has its strong points. I'd love to have a machine that does it all, but I can't justify the cost. My sewing goes in spurts, because I do other crafts as well, mostly knit and crochet. I have Mom's Featherweight and while it doesn't do anything but straight stitch, it does that very well. When one of my other machines isn't functioning properly, I can rely on the old Featherweight. I did a bit of research last year and found that it was made in the late 1930's. Then there is Mom's Kenmore. A few fancy stitches and it can handle lots of thicknesses of material and batting. And then there is the new baby, the Brother CS6000i. It has 60 built-in stitches and while it is the lightweight in the house and mostly made of plastic, it is still fun to work with. I paid $143 for it on Amazon last year.

We are lucky to have several sewing machine repair places in our area, but they aren't cheap.

WalMart may not have a huge inventory of machines in their store, but you should check out their online store. Most times there is larger inventory and site to store shipping is free. You just order it and then pick it up when they tell you it has arrived.