I have a 25 year old Sunbeam still chugging away after more than a decade of hard use.It got a vacation/ light duty when I bought the lift bowl stand mixer in 2008. Artisan looks beautiful  inthe colors & out performs someother stand mixers but has the same NYLON gears as mine that just died. Kichern Aid was made famous with chefs for durabilty from METAL GEARS..the Full-Metal Jacket of the kitchen.

My dead Kitchen Aid was going to take $100 plus to repair & I figured I'd just buy a new color Artisan & have a reserve. The first weeks of school I was making 3-4 batches of brownies & cupcakes...