Kitchen Aid Mixer damaged? Help plz!

[husker3in4]

I came to the conclusion I needed a mixer to get good results with all these great dough recipies on this site, so I finally got ahole of one from ebay. It was $148 (including shipping) for a "gently used" 300 watt KA mixer. After waiting 6 days it finally arrived. It came in its original box, but was packed with only wadded up newspaper between the mixer and the box itself. The bowl was on the mixer and the 3 attachments (whisk, paddle & hook) were inside the bowl. The mixer/bowl/attachements were wrapped inside a thick plastic bag (probably from original packing). The problem is that there was a yellow oily substance smeared on the inside of the bag around the top of the mixer. When pulling the mixer out, I found it was also all lover the top of the mixer itself and on the bowl. On futher inspection I see the screw on the front of the mixer is bent. I don't know much about these mixers, and am wondering if that bent screw broke something inside and all that yellowish oily substance was the lubricant from inside the motor. It looks like that screw had something to do with adding attachment to the front (sausage grinders or whatever) which I doubt I will use, but I dont want this mixer dying on me withing a few days of use because all the lubricant ran out due to the bent screw.

I did use it to make a batch of dough today, and while I dont know what it should normally sound like, it worked but it sounded to me like it had a hitch in the motor.

Im hoping some of you know your mixer in and out and can tell me the severity of this damage. I don't really want to go thru the hassle of paying $20 to ship it back and then waiting another few weeks to get another mixer, but I also dont want a mixer that will die on my shortly.

Take a look at these pics and tell me what you think..

[deb415611]

Husker 3in4,

I think I would call Kitchen Aid to see if they think the oil is from the motor.  Or check out the forum on the Kitchen Aid site - I don't know if you can post pictures there but you might be able to get an answer there from one of the Kitchen Aid people.

If you decide to send it back check out amazon.  They have factory reconditioned mixers for about the same price.  I think they are 169.  but there is usually a coupon code to enter at checkout for $25.   

The screw is to hold the attachments on.  I also thought that I would never use any of the attachments but I now have most of them and do use them.   

Deb

[Park.Pizza]

husker,

I'm sorry about your mixer. I can understand your feelings from excitement to disappointment. You may have been taken by an ebayer. That's the chance we all take.  As for the oil, I would look inside. You might as well, because there are no warranties when you purchase used equipment on ebay. It is possible that the unit was reconditioned with the wrong lubricant.  And you won't know what else is wrong inside until you do. As for the attachment screw, check this website for replacement parts. These machines are easy to repair. You just need to weigh out the cost of fixing over the cost of buying another one.

http://mendingshed.stores.yahoo.net/mixerthumbscrew.html

http://mendingshed.stores.yahoo.net/k45map.html

http://mendingshed.stores.yahoo.net/kitaidparts.html

best of luck,
Tim

[damon141]

You need to contact the seller and ask him for a refund.
Also you should always search the net before buying from Ebay, that series of Kitchen-Aid mixer was only $199 when it was new so by no means is it worth what you paid. It always makes me scratch my head when I visit ebay and see what people pay for used items, I recently bought a factory reconditioned Vita-Mix which looks brand new and on ebay people are bidding higher than I paid for used ones with scratches all over.

Here is a link to a new Kitchen Aid Artisan for $179.99 w/rebate
http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KSM150PSWH-Artisan-5-Quart-Mixer/dp/B00005UP2K/sr=1-1/qid=1164216577/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4464030-5319120?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden

[deb415611]

Here is a link to a new Kitchen Aid Artisan for $179.99 w/rebate
http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KSM150PSWH-Artisan-5-Quart-Mixer/dp/B00005UP2K/sr=1-1/qid=1164216577/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4464030-5319120?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden

Also look on the page for $25 off coupon code bringing it down to $154.99

[canadave]

I would love to know what the feedback rating was for the ebayer who sold this to you....

[David]

Did you pay for Insurance?Is the item as described?I believe you may have had some recourse if you had not used the item?I think too many people are quick to blame the seller.People pay more than they need to for many of  the things they buy everyday,due to laziness and lack of research / bargaining.Ebay feedback is a BS feelgood system developed by Ebay for Ebay to create a general fuzzy warm experience for the buyer,and IMO really doesn't mean much at all.it is up to the buyer to ask questions prior to parting with their cash.ALWAYS......... Buyer Beware.

[canadave]

Did you pay for Insurance?Is the item as described?I believe you may have had some recourse if you had not used the item?I think too many people are quick to blame the seller.People pay more than they need to for many of  the things they buy everyday,due to laziness and lack of research / bargaining.Ebay feedback is a BS feelgood system developed by Ebay for Ebay to create a general fuzzy warm experience for the buyer,and IMO really doesn't mean much at all.it is up to the buyer to ask questions prior to parting with their cash.ALWAYS......... Buyer Beware.

I don't want to turn this into a thread about eBay, but since it is relevant to ordering pizza items and equipment, let me just chime in here.

eBay feedback is *not* "a BS feelgood system."  It is, in fact, one of the only ways to at least have a fighting chance of knowing whether or not you're going to get ripped off.

You're a lot safer ordering things from someone who's had 1,000 positive ratings in the last month and has a 99.8% rating, instead of someone who's got 5 rating votes, three of which are negative.  There's no way to be totally sure about a seller, but the feedback is a good thing to check--I'll grant that it should not be the SOLE criterion in the decision whether or not to buy.

"Buyer Beware"--I agree, that certainly does apply to eBay.  Personally (and I'm sorry, I know this is of little comfort to the OP), I would hesitate before buying a mixer from someone on eBay, since a price savings of any significance over "normal" retail or online stores stands a good chance of being attributable to some fault or shortcoming in the product.  If someone wants to save a few bucks by going the "used classifieds" route, I'd encourage them to first try going with a local "Bargain Finder" type of listing, where you can hopefully check out the product firsthand before parting with cash.

Cheers,
Dave

[David]

With respect to all participents in this thread and this board,I feel that this thread does not belong on this board and all points could be (and should )be better addressed on the Ebay forums.If i were to defend my opinion ,it would be long winded,argumentative and have nothing to do with Pizza.Thanks,
                                                   David

[husker3in4]

Hey guys, I was just asking if the mixer was damaged. I dont know how much lubricant is supposed to be in there, or if signs of leakage means its broken. After looking around and reading here, it seems like its ok. Besides the bent screw (which still functions correctly) everything is fine. BTW, the feedback rating she had was 98 postitive and 0 negative. Yes I bought insurance, but I dont think I am gonna go thru the hassle of lugging it and its box to the post office during the holiday season and argue with them. Thanks for the replies tho

[Bruce R Leech]

your mixer is probably not damaged other than the lubricant has leaked from the planetary gears in the transmission.  in shipping it was upside down for some time and in a place where it got hot also, this caused the grease to soften and run out and all over the top. it is easy to open up and add more grease to the gears. but you must use a special food safe grease for mixers. this you can get at any appliance repair shop or order it from kitchen aid. go to there website and they will have full instructions for disassembly .