Kenmore vs. Elna
kilim...@my-dejanews.com
Kenmore 385 vs. an Elna 2004. The Elna costs a few dollars more, has a few
less options, but the dealer will throw in two year service for free plus
free sewing classes. So I think the prices are basically even. Sears told me
that Sanyo actually manufactures the Kenmore 385. From browsing this news
group I noticed that Elna "farms out" some manufacturing too, although I
don't know if this perticular model is farmed out. I am a newbie and have
never heard of Elna. I would greatly appreciate comments of reliability and
usability.
Thanks,
Carlos
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Thomas Farrell
<kilim...@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
>I am buying a sewing machine for my wife and would like comments between a
>Kenmore 385 vs. an Elna 2004. The Elna costs a few dollars more, has a few
>less options, but the dealer will throw in two year service for free plus
>free sewing classes. So I think the prices are basically even. Sears told me
>that Sanyo actually manufactures the Kenmore 385. From browsing this news
>group I noticed that Elna "farms out" some manufacturing too, although I
>don't know if this perticular model is farmed out. I am a newbie and have
>never heard of Elna. I would greatly appreciate comments of reliability and
>usability.
Elna is a swiss company that makes its reputation on the quality of its
engineering. Elna is buying their two top-of-the-line machines from
Janome (which is easy to tell as they're more or less identical to the
Janome 5000 and the Janome 9000) but the rest of their line seems to be
unique designs. The machines seem to be excellent in my examination. A
friend of mine is about to buy an Elna and I believe he'll be very happy
with it.
I had heard that Kenmore also had all of their machines manufactured by
Janome, so if that were true I would think there shouldn't be a quality
difference. On the other hand you say the salesperson says the machine
you're looking at was made by Sanyo. Sanyo is not a brand that has a lot
of sewing machine name recognition in America, and on that basis I'd be
concerned about buying a sewing machine they made. On the other hand
people have been saying very nice things about Kenmore machines lately.
Me, if I had to buy a machine unseen and choose an Elna or a Kenmore at
the same price, I'd choose the Elna, but that's just my preference. I
also like the sound of the free service and free lessons from your elna
dealer - dealer support can be a godsend if you need it, and I can't
expect anybody at sears to know anything about sewing, really.
My advice is, sit down and sew with both and see which you like better.
If either store won't let you try out the machine in the store, dump
them and go elsewhere.
Tom
--
Tom's Textile Arts Resources - http://www.skepsis.com/~tfarrell/textiles/
Tom's Textile Arts Book Center -
http://www.skepsis.com/~tfarrell/textiles/books/
Carrot
I'm very happy with it.
Good luck with choosing.
Riėtte
kilim...@my-dejanews.com
kilim...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> I am buying a sewing machine for my wife and would like comments between a
> Kenmore 385 vs. an Elna 2004. The Elna costs a few dollars more, has a few
> less options, but the dealer will throw in two year service for free plus
> free sewing classes. So I think the prices are basically even. Sears told me
> that Sanyo actually manufactures the Kenmore 385. From browsing this news
> group I noticed that Elna "farms out" some manufacturing too, although I
> don't know if this perticular model is farmed out. I am a newbie and have
> never heard of Elna. I would greatly appreciate comments of reliability and
> usability.
>
>
> Carlos
>
FYI, I found out that both machines are made in Taiwan. The manufacture site
is listed on the Kenmore, and a local store told me that according to the
latest sewing machine blue book the Elna 2004 is also make in Taiwan.
HM Martin
the machine. I'm completely happy with it. Haven't used an Elna, so can't
compare. :-)
kilim...@my-dejanews.com wrote in article
<72a4ue$vvi$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
> I am buying a sewing machine for my wife and would like comments between
a
> Kenmore 385 vs. an Elna 2004. The Elna costs a few dollars more, has a
few
> less options, but the dealer will throw in two year service for free plus
> free sewing classes. So I think the prices are basically even. Sears told
me
> that Sanyo actually manufactures the Kenmore 385. From browsing this news
> group I noticed that Elna "farms out" some manufacturing too, although I
> don't know if this perticular model is farmed out. I am a newbie and have
> never heard of Elna. I would greatly appreciate comments of reliability
and
> usability.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Carlos
>
Irene A. Fuerst
Thomas Farrell wrote:
>
>
> Elna is a swiss company that makes its reputation on the quality of its
> engineering.
I believe that Elna is now an American company. I don't know if this makes a
difference.
> Elna is buying their two top-of-the-line machines from
> Janome (which is easy to tell as they're more or less identical to the
> Janome 5000 and the Janome 9000) but the rest of their line seems to be
> unique designs. The machines seem to be excellent in my examination. A
> friend of mine is about to buy an Elna and I believe he'll be very happy
> with it.
>
> I had heard that Kenmore also had all of their machines manufactured by
> Janome, so if that were true I would think there shouldn't be a quality
> difference. On the other hand you say the salesperson says the machine
> you're looking at was made by Sanyo. Sanyo is not a brand that has a lot
> of sewing machine name recognition in America, and on that basis I'd be
> concerned about buying a sewing machine they made. On the other hand
> people have been saying very nice things about Kenmore machines lately.
>
> Tom
> --
> Tom's Textile Arts Resources - http://www.skepsis.com/~tfarrell/textiles/
>
> Tom's Textile Arts Book Center -
> http://www.skepsis.com/~tfarrell/textiles/books/
My personal experiences with Kenmore lead me to think that the quality is
inconsistent. You can get a really good value or a nasty lemon, probably
depending on the actual manufacturer. Caveat emptor.
Irene Fuerst