Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Our household consists of just my husband and I, so I've never felt the need for a full-sized food processor. However, when my tiny (<2 cup) Black & Decker mini-chopper finally died, I thought that getting a slightly bigger model might be in order. After much research, I decided on this Cuisinart model. Overall, I have been very happy with it, but I have detailed some specific pluses and minuses below. LIKE: *Chops very well! Almost every job takes only a few pulses of the "Chop" button. In general, foods are chopped more evenly than with my previous model. Also, the Cuisinart, although it is larger, does a better job with smaller batches of food. *Again, although the Cuisinart is larger, it has a relatively small, upright profile. It could easily sit out on the counter, although we store ours underneath a cabinet. *The pieces clean very easily. Although each piece is dishwasher safe, most of the time (unless I have chopped a more oily food), I feel that a rinse in soapy water under the faucet is sufficient. *The locking blade is a nice feature--i.e., you can turn the cup upside down and dump the food without the blade coming out--although it is NOT foolproof. *It is surprisingly quiet! The first time I used it, I was impressed but how little noise it made. *Finally, I like that the handle and lid are all large and easy-to-grasp, so even if your hands are wet/slippery from cooking, the unit is easy to manage. DON'T LIKE: *My main disappointment with this product has been the built-in "cord keeper" underneath. This feature might work if you were only keeping part of the cord wrapped around it and having the unit sit permanently on the counter. However, I was hoping to use it to store the cord when I put the appliance away under the counter, and for this, it does not work at all! It is much too small and tight, plus there is nothing to keep the cord in place; it winds up frustrating me every time! *Although I liked that a small spatula was included, it is TINY and rather flimsy. So, overall, you can see that what I like about my new Chopper/Grinder definitely outweighs what I dislike. In the end, I am happy that I made this purchase, and I would definitely recommend this product to others. ***EDITED 4/9/13*** I have just downgraded my review from 4-star to 2-star, as after only about 36 months of light use (e.g., purchased in July 2011 and used about 2-3 times per month, usually hand-washing after), several cracks have developed in the blade mechanism (SEE UPLOADED PHOTOS). I contacted Cuisinart but was told that my 18-month warranty had expired and that I would have to pay ALMOST HALF the cost of the product itself to receive a replacement blade (see the full text of their email in the comments). This seems completely unreasonable to me; regardless of the warranty, can't I expect that this product will not become defective within 3 years? If Cuisinart is telling me that the answer to this is "no," I will not buy from them again.