I have come across a lady who is selling her KA K5SS for $175, its about 8 years old and it great condition. I like the idead of the 5 QT bowl. BUt the wattage concerns me. Will 375 W be enough to do batches of buttercream and other tough stuff, maybe fondant or something?/
Anyone have this one or similar??
I don't know if I should buy it or keep saving up for the 475 W Commercial one at Costco for $299

Thanks for your input everyone. I just want a KA sooooooooooo bad.

since you can get a brand new one for 229 on Amazon and used ones from 119, I htink that is't such a good deal.


KitchenAid K5SSWH Heavy Duty 5-Quart Mixer, White
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2 used & new available from $119.77

Thanks, but I live in Canada and Amazon isn't really a great deal for me. PLus the one that is $119, doesnt have a bowl. I wrote the lady back and offered her $140 for it. Thats half of what i would pay for a new one at costco. We'll see what happens. Anyone else have any thoughts???

You can get a factory reconditioned mixer from kitchenaid. They are the ones that people returned for whatever reason .. some just because it was a gift and they didn't want it and they can't sell it again as new. But some are returned because they didn't work properly and those have been fixed. They have to do a lot of tests before they can sell them again so these are guaranteed to work. Here is the site.

http://shopkitchenaid.com/product_list.asp?SKW=KTAFACTSTAND&HDR=outlet

The artisan is $189 .. I bought my 4.5 quart used for $120, but if I knew about this site I would have gotten one here.

How long will it take you to save up the difference? And do you know this lady and if she took care of it?

$175 seems like alot for an 8 yr old KA. DH bought me that model 15 years ago. Back then it was top-of the line, and it's a workhorse. I do huge batches of BC (fill the bowl) and have done fondant in the past, but I was afraid to hurt my poor, sweet KA baby! (Also I'm lazy and prefer to buy it premade).

That said, the used one you mention is the same wattage as the Artisans that you can buy new for around $200. Here in America, you can find KA in department stores, kitchen stores, walmart... Maybe there's somewhere you can get a new one locally.

She said that she would take $150 for it. I am going to take a look at it tonight. The cheapest I can get it for locally is $329. And that is for a smaller bowl, and only 300W. I can occasionally get the 475W at costco on sale for $299. But I just don't have that kind of money for either of them. This one is $150, 375W 5Qt bowl, and bowl lift style. Maybe I will try and talk her down a bit, but I thought it was a pretty good deal. She said that she hasn't used it in years, and its been packed away in the box. She has two, so she decided to sell this one. Do these things have lifetime warranties??