Unfortunately, KitchenAid has rather flexible definitions of what constitutes ‘your area.’ The nearest authorized KitchenAid repair shop is in Syracuse - about 80 miles from me. Not impossible to get to, but I am cheap enough that I begrudge such a trip for only one errand. Especially if there’s a likelihood I’ll have to come back another day.
I’ll be going there this summer, I’m sure, but until then… I’m doing a bit of hand kneading. Which is, at least, good exercise.
We got ours as a wedding gift from my in-laws.
Other than the toaster oven, and the microwave, it’s the only appliance that stays on the counter. It’s used often enough to rate it’s place there.
I should name mine Helga, as it has the arms to knead up even my largest batches of bread. It’s a tank.
I also have the grinder attachment, and it’s been fantastic for grinding pork for pork pies, along with making sausage from venison (when I get one that’s big enough).
I’d love to get the pasta roller attachment, but we just don’t make enough fresh pasta to make it worthwhile. Our hand roller works good enough for our limited batches.
We first got one a few years ago.
I made pizza dough the first day, and burnt out the motor. When we brought it back (about an hour after buying it), we totally got the stink-eye.
Then, after using the replacement for about a year, the pin started coming out, and it seemed like first gear was lost. The lowest speed was way too fast for kneading pizza dough.
We have another replacement, and it’s working fine, so far, but color me unimpressed with the build quality so far.
But, it gets a 10 for eas of use, and usefulness when it’s working properly. And, a 10 for design.
Weird. “First gear” is actually just the slowest speed on the motor. The home mixers just have gearing to make the power from the motor turn a corner to go into the bowl, plus the “planetary” - that’s the part that does the spirograph-like spinning.
I do know that the newer “entry-level” KA mixers now have plastic gears. I don’t know if KA truly believes them to be as good as metal gears, or if their research shows 98% of their mixers are just living docile lives as countertop bling. I do know that the “pro” model I have uses all metal gears.
**OtakuLoki ** - I only suggested finding a service shop as a convenience. Sounds like it would actually be inconvenience for you.
The bowl plate is dead easy to fix - three screws hold it in, and new ones are available here. For the hinge pin, they’re also easy to re-assemble. Lock the head into the “down” position, take the bowl off and turn the mixer upside-down in your lap so you are able to see inside the neck of the mixer. There is a small screw that holds the hinge pin in place. Use a small screwdriver to tighten the set screw, and this should hold the hinge pin in place.
Cool, thanks! I’ll be glad to order that part, and then do all the fixes. And I’ll admit, it’s more likely to happen that way than if I actually keep waiting for when I have some other reason to go to Syracuse. 
Glad you like it. My wife got one as a present from my mother about 25 years ago when she was baking bread for restaurants out of our kitchen. I think it might have needed some work once, but it’s still working like a charm today. Some things are just made well.
I got mine as a bridal shower present over 20 years ago and I love, love, love it.
It has never broken down, never needed maintenance–I just wipe it clean after every use. I got it in white (I had a white kitchen back then) and I have a question:
could I use appliance paint and paint it cream? The stark white does not look good on my new kitchen counters. If the mixer coordinated better, I’d leave it out all the time. I do have room for it, but like with all things, I could use that room for something else…
Should I try it? Could I spray paint it a stainless finish (what I really want). Cream or ivory would be ok. Thoughts?
Mine is plain white too, because it’s the one Macy*s had on sale for $166. Carrying it home on the subway for an hour was completely worth it! I love my KitchenAid mixer with every fiber of my being.
My Mom had her avocado one for 30+ years (with TLC from Pop for minor repairs) and finally had to replace it with a white one.
ETA: That’s part of why I love mine so heartily. It reminds me of Mom and her brilliant baking, and it just is what a mixer should be because it’s what Mom had.
I have an Artisan in Metallic Chrome. I love it. The only thing it’s been unable to handle so far is a cookie recipe I have that incorporates such a high volume of add-ins (dried cranberries, nuts, two kinds of chips) that it threatens to burn out the motor. For that one, I mix up the dough in the mixer until add-in time, then I do it by hand the rest of the way.
I love the whisk attachment. I’m too slow and lazy to whip egg whites any other way, but I made a perfect, beautiful chiffon cake with the KitchenAid.
I considered getting it shipped through a friend in the US, but a FOAF told me that she’d tried to do the same thing and when her US-based friend asked the sales assistant about converting the power supply he said that it would burn out in about a year - apparently Kitchenaid specifically make them like this so they can’t be converted. I don’t know if he pulled that out of his arse, because it sounds awfully urban legendish to me, but there you go.
Just about everything is far cheaper in the US. A Mini Cooper S for 20k (55k in Australia), MAC lipstick for $14 ($35 in Australia), etc. It used to make sense when the AUD was worth half of the USD, but now we hover around the 90c mark, so the price disparity is grating. If my partner ever gets transferred to the US I’m going with empty suitcases.
I’ve never seen anything come out of a paint can that looked anything like actual metal.
If you really want to paint it, pop over here and click on the Service Manual (pdf) link that’s at top center on the page to get an idea of what’s involved to take the mixer apart.
You really don’t want to try painting an assembled mixer as you’ll only get paint into places it shouldn’t be, like the motor and speed control. By the time you’ve got it broken down, and all the parts are scrubbed and de-greased, you may as well re-name the project as rebuilding the mixer, rather than repainting it.
Surface prep will be slightly miserable as you’ll need to sand off the existing paint’s gloss, at a minimum, or the new paint will only chip off soon. Better yet would be to remove the paint down to bare metal.
Finally, whatever paint you use will not be nearly as durable as the oven-baked powdercoat or enamel finish that’s applied at the factory.
My advice is to leave it alone. If it bugs you badly enough, sell it on craigslist and buy one in the color of your choice.
I’m the luckiest gal in the entire universe - I have a arsenal of KitchenAid appliances.
We bought a mixer when we got married. I explained to my (engineer) husband that I was getting the expensive KitchenAid; it’s worth it, trust me, and he’ll be happy for the treats that come out of it.
So, I got it. Nice, shiny red one. After a few batches of cookies and whatnot, hubby comes home with a blender that he saw at the store. He’d researched KitchenAid and can’t get over how well they’re made. A few months later - a food processor shows up. Then the Mr. Coffee “Broke” - replaced with a KitchenAid model. We have KitchenAid cutlery, bakeware, tools, appliances, pretty much anything they make, my obsessed husband will buy. (I suspect that he is more obsessed with the food that comes from good tools, but it’s getting a bit pathological…)
I’m not complaining, though. Everything they make is amazing. I’ve never had a problem with anything I own from them, and I use them all the time. In fact, I have Challah rising on the counter that my mixer kneaded beautifully for me…
Enjoy your new mixer - it will serve you well for many many many years.
I’ve had my mixer, a gorgeous green, for just about two years. I love it. I got in in lieu of getting a bread maker, and I am so glad I let former Doper moi talk me into it. It’s so much more versatile, and I still can make awesome bread.
I have the 5qt tilt-head model. Can’t recall the actual name, but that’s the capacity. I really enjoy it, and have been baking up a storm since I moved here. I love baking, but haven’t had so much time before. I’ll be needing to send goodies to work with my roommate soon…
Neato, a collector’s item.
It’s making a train birthday cake for my soon-to-be-three-years-old nephew tomorrow night.
Aw, jeez, you knitted a cover for it? Why, oh why, do women always hafta…well… vagina up everything manly? He’s grinding meat, woman! Keep that sissy crap offa his machinery! You’ll clog up the man’s gears, for God’s sake!
What if I quilt a cover out of this?
Oh. Crap. Well, it looks like I’m stuck with a white one for the near future. Damn.
It’ll stay in its cabinet then. Poop.