I own the KitchenAid K45SS Classic.
I've owned it for almost 20 years. And there's a reason for that.
You see, my mixer is one of the original Hobart-made ones. It has the Hobart logo on the side. And this mixer has stood up to every task that I've assigned it to. I've used all three beaters, and now, I'm getting into buying some accessorires for it, such as the food grinder, pasta maker and other things.
I've already bought the 3-qt. stainless steel bowl and the mixer cover for it.
I'm NOT letting this mixer go as long as it works, and it is still working very well.
If it were to break down, I certainly wouldn't buy another KitchenAid mixer again. The ones made today have a design flaw where the transmission is housed in a plastic casing that twists & breaks, causing the gears to stop working. Trust me, when Hobart owned the KitchenAid division, the mixers were the cream of the crop. Now that Whirlpool owns it, the mixers break down too much because of that serious design flaw. Or the motors burn out.
I'm not out to scare any of you, but if your KitchenAid stand mixer is not one of the original Hobart-made units, please keep an eye out for any strange popping noises coming from your machine. The now plastic casing heats up, distorts and cracks, letting the gears get out of whack and renders the mixer useless.
Anyone wishing to get proof of this can go to
http://groups.msn.com/Kitchenaid/ . You'll see small pics there of one of the mixers with the outside cover removed to expose the inner workings. Just click on those pics to enlarge them and get a close-up view of the motor and the cracked plastic cover on the gears and the plastic cover removed to show the gears.
It may scare you, but I want everyone to know the REAL quality of Whirlpool-made KitchenAid stand mixers. Thank you.
~Corey123.