fix

I'd take it to a repair shop and ask the technician to look at it. He/She could probably tell quickly if it needs cleaning, lubrication and adjustment, or expensive repairs. DW's turned out to have brittle plastic gears that weren't worth the cost.

Take it to a reputable quilt shop that offers sewing machine repairs and tuneups.

Not much goes wrong other than oiling or cleaning and most likely bobbin and thread tension. One should be able to do it themselves.

What's wrong with it?

My 40 yr old Kenmore is going strong and it gets a ton of use by me. It survived my two daughters use as teenagers and now their kids are having a go at it.

I gave away my MIL’s TOL Kenmore from the ‘70s to the guy who helps us with electrical stuff. It was kept at our house in the tropics, where the climate had hardened the wire, giving me a little shock from the metal housing. The clutch had also become fiddly. He rewired it and his wife enjoyed learning to sew with it - at least until Irma finished off the machine.

I can’t live without a sewing machine, so bought a little Bernina to replace the Kenmore. It’s been great and gets plenty of use.

My 1960s Kenmore froze up several months ago and I took it to the shop after failing to unfreeze it using the oiling diagrams in the instruction book. They fixed it right up. The freeze was really deep, not where I could get to it. Works like a dream now and I've been sewing quite a lot lately.

A spa treatment every 15 years isn't too much to ask!