Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We've had our blender for nearly 5 years, but won't be patronizing K-TEC, including their BlendTec product line, anymore. The pitcher has a gear fitting on the bottom that tends to wear out every 2 years. They blamed us the first time because we had put the pitcher in the dish washer a couple of times. Thinking they were an honest business, we coughed up the $100 to have them ship a new pitcher. Around 2 years later, the exact same problem started happening. This time they admitted that their pitchers only last about 2 years with regular use. Here are the symptoms: * Grey powder between the pitcher and the base. That's powder from the metal shaft in the pitcher grinding up. * Sharp grinding noise at the beginning right before the blades really spin. Eventually the shaft fitting wears down completely and won't work anymore, requiring you to spend another $100 or more (as prices rise) every other year for a new pitcher. Personally, I find this to be a total rip-off when old blenders that cost a fraction of the price and made in the late 70's are still able to work (albeit without the same amount of torque) for 30 years and this one can't even last 3! Stay away from K-Tec and BlendTec and tell your friends to look for alternatives.