Costco has a $50 coupon this month for their Pro 550 model which brings the price to $250. Same as the Pro 600 but 5.5 quart capacity instead of 6. Same 575 watt motor and pro-lift feature.Available in black,sivler,or red. If you or friends/family have membership best bang for buck out there IMO.

Unless you find a mint condition vintage Hobart KA mixer at garage sale because on ebay they go for a premium. A new 5qt Hobart N-50 is a superior machine but cost what a refrigerator should cost not what a mixer should cost.

Then there is the Bosch mixer. Better at heavy duty mixing like dense bread not as good at light duty mixing like cakes. It is fugly though when compared to KA.

Good Luck!

I have the 6 qt and it's fine on smaller volumes.

BUT! If you want to slide your mixer under your upper cabinets, measure first. The big one is sized so that it'll be close but probably won't fit.

I have both the big 6qt Pro and the little 4.5qt Artisan. I use the 6qt for most things. I leave it on my counter because it's a monster. It fits with just a bit of room to spare under my cabs. I have 18", you may run into a fit problem with a smaller gap or if your light rail is real big. The 6qt is fine for smaller volumes, although I tend to use the little one if I'm whipping up very small batches of cream or only a couple of egg whites.

If you're going to use it a lot and want to keep it for a long time -

scour eBay, Craigslist, and your local flea markets / thrift shops for a 70-80's model.

The new ones look the same as the venerable mixer that everyone around here loves but the guts have been engineered by the suits and not the guys in the white lab coats. They pretty much signed their demise when they started offering all the fancy colors.

Part of the problem with the newer models is the use of plastic gears vs. the metal gears they used to use. If you use your mixer alot especially for things that are harder to mix, like bread dough, then definitely go with the ones with the metal as the plastic gears will strip. If I remember correctly, you can tell by their wattage--you had to go with a model that was either over 400 or 500 watts (I don't remember which--but you can call KA to find out). I've had mine for 15.5 years and it's still running like a top!

I would strongly recommend going for the more/most powerful ones. We have the 6 quart Pro-whatever Kitchen Aid and it's been fantastic. It will bog down just a bit, though, on a sticky dough so I can't really imagine the lower powered ones.

Good call from Fori on measuring it. Ours fits under our cabinates, 18 inches.

-Stooxie

They whent with plastic gears for a while then had problems and came back to all metal gears.

On the 550 from Costco at least, it says so right on the box.

"All steel gear transmission"

They used to be made in Greenville Ohio.

Now they are "proudly designed engineered in the USA and assembled in Greenville Ohio"

Which means in terms of parts value,less than 50% is made in the USA.

The Basic & Artisan KA mixers have the plastic gears. When you get into the Pro lines, you see the metal gears. It's not that the wattage dictated the type of gears, but I think it was what the mixer was capable of and so you saw higher wattage mixers getting the better gears. Right in line with your Pro 550.

Remember low gears are for power while high gears are for speed.

Some people try to mix dense dough with the more "powerful higher gears" and strip transmission.

My comment is on the form versus function aspect. I got mine in a fun color...a few years later, it's not so fun, and I wish I'd gone with something more classic. It's so expensive, there's no way I'll replace it any time soon!

Since they're such great looking machines, and most people leave them out on the counter, I'd advise you to go with a classic color or make sure you *really* love it if you choose a funky one.

Enjoy!!

I can't confirm this but I had heard that while the gears are metal - they're held in place by plastic parts - and the plastic can break. Luckily I still have my old K5A - I bought it in 1976 and paid $159.99 for it - that was a huge splurge at the time.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Fresh Loaf - info

Marie_Cate

It says right in your link that they replaced the plastic housing with metal housing,the entire transmission is now metal.

This change happened a few years ago.

No sure about the lines below the Pro models.

Sorry I should have been clearer - I just wanted to alert anyone buying a used one - or as you mentioned - a non Pro model to be aware.

There were posts on this forum that the manufacturer has not been so willing to replace a mixer that failed while mixing dough.

I had a kitchen where my mixer fit under the cabinets on one side but not the other. Before I bought the mixer I thought I had symmetry! :)

If you're going to be making bread, especially large batches of whole wheat, consider getting a heavy duty bread machine. I do a 3 loaf batch of whole wheat bread in mine and it's pushing it. If I add oatmeal, it can't do it. Smaller batches, less healthy (hehe!) batches, no problem. It does a great job on dough but it isn't a high volume machine. (This is the Pro model, 6 qt 600 watt I think. Whatever the big one is.)

Around Christmas, Amazon usually has a really good deal on the big ones in normal colors.

I have a KA Artisan and I love it! I've used it a couple of times a week for 6 years. Some recipes can be doubled but others simply will not fit. I generally do not use it for dough as I like to knead by hand; but heavy batter/dough can give the Artisan KA a workout. If I had it to do again I would probably buy the KA Pro 600.

Based on my experience with my mixer when it was time to buy a new blender I bought a Vita-Mix; it doesn't save any money if the product dies or doesn't meet your top-line requirements.

My recommendation to a friend would be this: Buy new. If you are going to use it more than a couple times a month buy the Pro 600. If you are only going to use it 24 or so times a year a Artisan will meet your needs; I can make the next batch of cookie dough while baking the first first batch. If you just want a bad a$$ mixer buy the Pro 600. Even better would be to score a free KA from a friend who is handing it down.

Hubby said the other day that our new kitchen will be complete once it has a stand mixer collecting dust on the countertop (he's hoping for homemade bread and goodies, I'm sure!). And so.....here I am, back on Appliances searching the archives for stand mixer info.

If I'm gonna get one, I might as well get the higher wattage one---don't want to get one and then complain about it. Am I reading this thread correctly---that if you have 18" of clearance under your upper cabinets, the Pro 600 WILL fit? I saw the measurements of one, and I couldn't figure out which number is what dimension (I'm sure there's a std. way of writing measurements, but I don't remember it). I thought that the higher number was the height, but it looks like I'm wrong (19.4")???

What color looks best collecting dust (just kidding--I guess I should get a cover for it)? The cinnamon looks nice (I have medium cherry cabs, dark peacock granite, and SW Blonde walls; an accent color in the adjacent room is a clay or browned pumpkin color). Amazon has them for $300. I can get one at Kohl's for $310 after coupon and rebate. Is it better to get one local (but only 3 color choices--black, "nickel", and something else like nickel). Are these good prices?

Thanks!
Tracey

another issue (for me anyway) is that on the larger version you must remove the beater before you take the off the bowl.

you don't have to do that on the smaller version that tilts.

may not be a problem for many people - but it drives me nuts. Just something to consider.

I also recommend measuring the clearance. With my undercupboard light strip mine won't fit :( It is one heavy sucker to lift in and out of my pantry, but worth it - works like a dream. I have the Pro5 which I bought from the Shopping Channel a few years ago.

I just bought the one at Costco--it's a smidge shorter than the Pro600 but has the same 575 watts. I doubt that with just the 2 of us that I'll miss that 1/2 quart (smaller bowl). It had a rebate on it which made it the better price, too.

Now to figure it out (never even seen one used before--except on TV) and put it to a test. Oh, and to get one of those "scrapes the sides" beaters......

If you can, I would really look for an used Older KA (K45) model with the Hobart motors. Anything from 70's-90's, they're rock solid come in the groovy sage green color (I love my mom for that) and if taken care of, will last more than one persons life time. While they're only 4.5 qts, for basic cooking/baking they're great.

Do you bake alot? then I'd go with a 6qt. If not, the 5 qt. should cover most needs.

My daughter refused to take mine (given to me from mom) and decided to get one of the newer classic ones. Within a month, she asked if I was still willing to give her it. (which I did) She stated there was a huge difference on how the newer one performed. Yes, the motors and gears do matter.

Now, if you're really wanting top end, just go with an Hobart N50 mixer if you love baking. Not cheap, but will outlast us all.

JC - a lot of people are going to faint if they research that mixer. It has to last a lifetime.

Those are what the KA mixer used to be when KA first acquired the line from Hobart. They were super expensive back then too. KA figured out how to reduce costs and price to gain some mass appeal. Then the they further "engineered" them to allow everyone to have access to one from there TV or warehouse club , and here we are today discussing how they are cute but no so good anymore.

Have you seen the new glass bowls which fit many of the KA stand mixers?
I believe they are only available for the tilt-head models.

And, YES, do be sure to measure your clearance between the countertop and the upper cabinet, especially if you're getting a tilt-head.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchenaid with Clear Glass Bowl