I am wanting to buy a kitchen aid mixer - I have never had one before and there are so many different models and I have no idea which one to get. I am mainly getting it to make icing and I think I know I want a 5 or 6 quart, I just don't know about all the other things like bowl lift etc, any suggestions and also where is the best price. Is it the same to just get one from walmart or order from somewhere else? thanks

I have both Kitchen Aid Mixers. I prefer the flip top over the bowl lift. I think though you may want to get the bowl lift because they come with heavier duty motors. You'll have to look into which one suits your needs. I also know some people have trouble making MMF on the lighter machines. HTH

I am getting the 5 qt artisan from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It is $299.99 but if you are on their mailing list you get the 20% off coupon in the mail. I was going to get the classic but I wanted the bigger one that also has a bowl with handle. The bowl alone is $40. If you decide to go with the classic it is $199.99 at Linens N Things and they take the BB&B coupons. BB&B doesn't carry the classic.
Walmart has the classic for $198 but no coupon.

I have the 5-qt tilt head and love it! Being a hobby baker, it's the perfect size for me and handles whatever I need it for excellently. I personally don't like the bowl-lift. I used my aunt's once and hated it. A 4.5 quart is on the small size. A 6 quart will handle larger loads (so if you bake all the time and in large quantity that might work).

The difference between tilt and lift I find is strictly personal preference.

For cheapest, just look for sales. Everyplace sells them at around the same prices but the coupons and sales really add up! Amazon isn't a bad place to look either. That's where my BF got mine.

7qt Viking

I have a 6 qt. with the bowl lift and if I had it to do all over again I would get one with the tilt head. I just find that the "head" gets in the way alot. I have a 4.5 qt. Sunbeam that has a tilt head, it can in no way compare to my KA, but I know that I like the tilt head from using it.

I also found that I really didn't 6 quarts but I found a great deal on it around Christmas time last year and dh bought it for me. I would at least get a 5 qt. if I were you because my Sunbeam fills to the rim almost when I make WASC, but 5 or 6 is totally up to you.

~Stephanie

I would recommend getting the 6qt. We used that size in school so when I graduated he bought it for me for Christmas. You have enough room to at least double your recipes. If you can get the tilted head thats better because the standard head gets in my way sometimes.

Hi there - we have a subscrip. to Consumer Reports online - I just checked their results for you:

#1 KA Classic 4.5qt
#2 KA Artisan 5.qt
#3 DeLonghi 5qt
#4 Hamilton Beach 4.5qt
#5 KA Pro Plus 5qt
#6 KA Pro 600 6qt

Hope that helps!!

I have a 4.5 qt and I love it. Occasionally, I wish I had a bigger bowl size, but it's never really been a problem. I called Kitchen Aid earlier this week to ask a question and they are running a special on the 5 qt mixers right now. I think she said they were $250.

I have the kitchen Aid pro 5 qt. I personally like the bowl lift. The head does sometimes get in the way but I use the splash guard and it is easy to add the ingredients with that. The part I really like about mine is that it fits under my upper cabinets and I don't have to pull it out to use it. It makes it great for quick little jobs without taking up my counter space.

I just bought a KA 4.5 qt mixer. It was on sale at Macy's for about $180 (I think). A friend of a friend of mine works at Macy's so I got her 20% employee discount on top of the sale price. And to top it all off, it also has a $20 mail in rebate.
Imagine how happy I was when I had received my new baby. I have been waiting for it to go on sale for about 2 years now. This time I could finally afford it.
I would like to have had a 6 QT one, but it was too expensive for me. Have to sell more cakes to afford that one.
I'm taking baby steps. lol

tdybear, if I would have a choice, I would definately get the bigger one. I like to make my BC
in a huge batches to cover a 3 tierd cake.

The KA Pro....I broke 2 smaller KA mixers and just don't like them. (Of course I do more heavy dough and pastry than cake and icing)

The Viking is pretty darn awesome too. (That Mike mentioned above) I would be hard-pressed to pick a fave from the two, and use both all the time.

I also prefer having a bigger bowl, it makes large batches easy and feasible, and smaller ones a breeze.

Check with Lowes -it's a great place to buy your Kitchen Aid. They will order any of the available colors. I have the Artisan -love it!

ALSO!! Lowes will meet and BEAT any competitor's price -do your research on prices and they will beat it -even take your word for it if you don't have an ad with you. Trust me -I know!!

also check with Amazon...they have these I think they are called "gold deals" and it's a gold link at the top of the page...I bought the KA Heavy Duty Plus, bowl lift, from there and it was only $150...it was the BEST deal I have ever found! and I LOVE it!

I have the KA HP Professional with 5 qt bowl lift . I got it from Amazon - refurbished - for $199. I love it!!! Named it Lucy.............

Bev

ha ha Bev! mine is named Babette

I have a 4.5 quart that is 20 years old (okay so it belongs/belonged to my mother but lives at my house) and I have a 6 quart.

For a home baker that isn't going to bake in bulk all the time I like the smaller one. I have found that the 6 quart can be harder to make smaller amounts of things.

If you plan on putting the mixer on your kitchen counter you also want to measure it and see if it will fit. The lift bowl mixers are taller and I know mine wouldn't fit under my mom's cabinets.

TexasSugar is right...my KA just fits under my cabinets if I want it to...luckily my cabinets are set back enough that I am able to leave it out from under it and on the end of the counter works for me though!

I have the KA Pro 600, 6 qt.

Love the fact that it can handle double frosting recipes and thicker batters/frostings.

Did find it awkward to work with at first because i wanted to scrape the bowl sides while it's beating. I don't think this can be done without losing a few knuckles.

So, I beat while, turn the mixer off and lower the bowl if necessary to scrape the sides. You don't have to lower the bowl - it just depends on what you making.

I think the 6 qt. capacity and heavy duty motor make up for the inconvenience of the head getting the way some times.

My two cents.

FYI---Anybody waiting for a sale Target usually puts their classic 4.5 qt on sale during November and December. Also, with a bed, bath, and beyond 20% off coupon you can get it at linens n things for $160. Linens n things and bb&b take each others coupons.

I have the KA 600 Pro with the 6 qt bowl, this was my mother's day present for myself I love it, love it, love it!!! I purchased mine from lowes when they was running the mother's day sale and got it for around $230.00 so that was a great deal!! Only thing I don't like about it (which is my fault for not measuring) is it doesn't fit under my cabinets.

thank you everyone for your input, I guess I am just going to start looking around to see what I can find out there for a good price