Smoke , fire and bits of metal today spewed out of my Kenwood mixer, to be fair it is old and it has been making strange noises for a few weeks. So....... what to replace it with? I am tempted to buy the same make however I thought I would ask the forum for their recommendations first. I might not take any notice of what you say but it will give me food for thought.

I like my Kitchen Aid... 12 years old, has had a _lot_ of use, and works like the day I bought it. Lots of accessories available if that is your thing.

I vote for Kenwood - have had mine now for just over 18mths & it is fantastic. Lots of accessories that came with mine, like the blender & I got a mincer attachment too. But - I love the look of the KA, just divine sitting on the bench top. Good luck with your choice

I cant comment, but also consider if you go with an expensive one, how will you feel if it needs repairs outside a warranty period. Will you be willing to claim under the CGA etc as its not straight foward as many things are subjective. I have just done it, and its not something I would want to repeat, and the concept of going cheap and replacing more often probablly has its advantages

IMO, the problem with going cheap on an item such as a stand mixer is that if the motor and gears are not strongly built, it won't be able to do the job even in the short term. I'm talking about heavy duty tasks such as kneading bread where some oomph is actually needed.

Jenna, I agree with you - you do have to consider how you use it and the options you want, but I just wanted to put that angle across as higher prices are not necessarily indicative of longetivity.

I love my Kenwood mixer, and previously had my Mum's one which lasted and lasted and lasted....however if money wasn't an issue I'd go with a Kitchen Aid as well.

Plates Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jenna, I agree with you - you do have to consider how you use it and the options you want, but I
> just wanted to put that angle across as higher prices are not necessarily indicative of longetivity.

This I certainly agree with. Kettles are a pretty good example.

What price are these machines and what do you regularly use them for? I don't have one but I am interested in this topic.

hi marylew - I cant help with prices but think it was about $850 - a wild guess only as mine was a birthday gift & altho I was in the store at the time I carefully averted my eyes when the price tag was shown. The mixer gift was offered, I just needed to choose which one - so felt very lucky.

Stephanie D, you've probably long since replaced your mixer, but just in case: I picked the Kenwood for two reasons. The motor is far more powerful than the KitchenAid's one, and I also read on Amazon that since they shifted production of the KitchenAid to Mexico a small plastic part in them frequently breaks. That's not a problem to replace in the US but I bet it is here.

CarolynC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Stephanie D, you've probably long since replaced
> your mixer, but just in case: I picked the Kenwood
> for two reasons. The motor is far more powerful
> than the KitchenAid's one, and I also read on
> Amazon that since they shifted production of the
> KitchenAid to Mexico a small plastic part in them
> frequently breaks. That's not a problem to replace
> in the US but I bet it is here.


I agree. I bought my Kenwood for exactly the same reason many many years ago. It's not the prettiest looking mixer but it's been very good for mixing heavy bread dough. The strong motor is very reliable. If this mixer should give up the ghost I would buy a Kenwood again.

I did buy another Kenwood, bigger motor and oh so quiet!