I just got back from the Singer showroom and repair place. The cost for replacing a belt (labor included) on the Hoover Wind Tunnel vacuum cleaner? $39.95.
The fixed price for repairing a Classic Singer (50 years old + up) sewing machine? $225.00
Our machine was built in 1926. My mother’s mother purchased it used for $50 in roughly 1949. It looks much like this one.
We decided not to have the Singer rehabbed right now, since we don’t have a crying need to sew things. Sometime in the future, though . . .
Wait…I have a Hoover Wind Tunnel. The belts are, like, $12 for a 2-pack at Kmart. Replacing it yourself just requires a Phillips-head screwdriver, I think. (I may have used a flat screwdriver for prying.)
Yeah, but if you are unable to diagnose the problem, never having seen it before . . . the roller brush turned just fine when I tilted the vacuum cleaner up, so how was I to even suspect it wasn’t turning when it was on the floor?
Does the Singer still have the original carrying case? That should make it more valuable. I’d love to see what the folks on Antiques Roadshow would give as a value.
Sure does. Their prices on eBay are all over the map, from $25 – $400.
Ah. Usually I can tell I need a new belt by the smell of burning rubber, and the screaming noise the vacuum cleaner makes when it sucks up a cat toy that jams the roller and breaks the belt.
Now, see, Harold, if one of those events had occurred I’d have been able to guess, but we have no cat toys (no cat). The dog toys got thrown out when the dog passed away 18 months ago, and no burning rubber was evident.
what a difference!!
Ya ever notice how dirty vacuum and sewing machine stores are? I mean the ones that are self-sufficient, not one sthat are part of say, Sears.
The vacuum store near me is so dusty you can see the dirt and grime on the windows. The belts and parts look like something from another era. The packaging’s words are worn off.
I have heard he gives good prices for his work though…