Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

BEWARE! THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S 1950 KITCHENAID MIXER (HERS IS PROBABLY STILL WORKING)! It is a badly-engineered, expensive, appliance nightmare. I had a 5-quart KitchenAid mixer for many years, but since that one was almost worn out, and I really wanted a larger capacity machine, I "upgraded" to the 6-quart model. BIG MISTAKE!! This machine does NOT have enough power for serious bakers. It literally "smoked" the motor on the first try - and I was following all the instructions to the letter (i.e., only use the dough hook on speed 2, etc.) I'm not stupid. I even used a bread recipe out of the KitchenAid cookbook! So I received a replacement from KitchenAid. (Good news if you do buy one - they will send you a replacement - but it makes you wonder why their return system works so well.. maybe because they have to replace these machines all the time??) The new mixer has not been any better - while it doesn't exactly "smoke" (yet), it overheats and locks up. And it drips BLACK OIL out of the hole where the attachments go in. Yummy! Black oil in your bread dough. I spend more time wiping and cleaning it than anything else, and what SHOULD be a relaxing pasttime (baking), instead becomes a stressful, frustrating nightmare trying to use this badly designed, underpowered machine. OK, if you are ONLY going to make fluffy cakes and pies, the KitchenAid is probably fine for you. On the other hand, if you want to make bread, brownies or other thicker-dough recipes, forget it. Go with a different brand and get at least an 800 or 1000 watt machine. Because of my terrible experience with this mixer, I will NEVER buy another KitchenAid product EVER.