I bought this mixer at WalMart for around $100 (I am a hobby baker) and I have had nothing but problems with it! The first one started smelling bad and stopped spinning the mixers. I returned it to the store and exchanged it (it was only 3 weeks old!). Now my second one (about 3 weeks old again!) has done the same thing! I mixed fondant in the first one but I haven't mixed anything but batter and icing in this one! This one has only been used to make maybe 5 cakes and I am so mad. I feel like I wasted $100. I am thinking of upgrading to a KitchinAid 5-qt. Artisan and wondered if anyone had any feedback on it. Thanks!

I know people love their old Sunbeam mixers (kind of like the way people love their old Kirby vacuums), but I have not had good experiences with the newer ones. My mom gave me one as a wedding gift and it shed its (plastic!) gears into a bowl of buttercream the third time I used it. It wasn't as expensive as yours though.

You should take it back and make Walmart give you a refund instead of an exchange. That way you won't have wasted your $100. If all they will give you is a gift card, use it for groceries and put the $100 in your mixer fund (although they should give a refund, my best trick for getting a refund when they refuse is to stand there at the customer service desk and call the store manager on my cell phone)

I have a KitchenAid Artisan and I LOVE it!!! Get one and don't look back!

I dont have any experience with a Sunbeam but I have KA artisan and I love it!! It's made lots of cakes and buttercream icing and fondant! I also love the red color

I got a great deal on mine at Kohl's. I had a discount using my Kohl's card and there was a rebate available. This was a while ago but it seems like places like that are always running some sort of special.

I have a sunbeam mixer that I also bought at walmart and it done fine. I just got a kitchenaid for christmas and I love it. I never use the sunbeam now.

I have a love affair with my kitchenaid mixer. It's worth it's weight in gold. Other than being good for buttercream, and cake batter, it's also great when you use the dough hook. I would recommend it!!!! (I got mine at Costco for a heck of a deal!)

I have a love affair with my kitchenaid mixer. It's worth it's weight in gold. Other than being good for buttercream, and cake batter, it's also great when you use the dough hook. I would recommend it!!!! (I got mine at Costco for a heck of a deal!)

I've had my sunbeam for over 2yrs now and it works great. I have not had any problems with it at all. But, I do want to upgrade to the KA, just haven't done it yet...you know what's needed for that

I have a kitchenAid and LOVE it! I have had it for about 2 yrs now and have had the no problems at all and I use it all the time! It is well worth the $$$. You can buy the different attachments and use it for lots of things.

I had a sunbeam heritage mixer a couple years ago and it never worked right. It was only used for batter and icing. I went through 2 sets of beaters thinking they were the problem but nope! I brought it back 2 months after purchasing and got full store credit which I put towards my KA ultra power mixer. LOVE KA!! My only wish is for a larger one, or a second one.

My Sunbeam was terrible. It couldn't handle the work and went out on me after just a few months. I now have a Kitchenaid.

my mom bought me the sunbeam heritage mixer for Christmas. I haven't have any problems with it, but I haven't done much more than batter and icing.

I also have my mom's KitchenAid 4.5 quart mixer that I use as well. It gives me more trouble than the Sunbeam. It rattles and wobbles when making icing. I have to hold the motor head steady to keep it from wobbling.

My mom bought a Sunbeam about 3 or so years ago on clearance for $20. It works great, IMO. I've been giving it a workout lately and it has definitely risen to the challenge. Once my husband comes back from Korea and we build our house, I'm going to get one of the heavier duty ones, but the Sunbeam is getting a big thumbs up from me!

I must be crazy, but I love "junkin'"...recently bought an avocado green sunbeam mixmaster from the late '60's...I use it in addition to my KA. It's not my KA, but I love it none the less! Runs like a dream, and cost half what I would have paid for just a replacement/addiitonal bowl for my KA. Sure is nice to have more than one mixer. Glad I found this one though, instead of buying a new Sunbeam.

Save up & buy a KA. Mine is 10 yrs old & still going strong. I do recommend getting an extra mixing bowl & lids-saves on washing up!!
I would love a 6qt but my 4.5qt is great until then.

I purchased a Sunbeam out of desperation about a year ago. I was in the middle of a HUGE cookie order and my Bosch beater broke. I returned the crappy Sunbeam the very next day. I had to literally turn the bowl by hand to get it to move. It's a shame a name that once meant quality now is junk!

And I refused an exchange, I got my $$ back!

I bought the same mixer at Walmart and it was just not powerful enough for fondant. I fortunately have 2 Kitchen Aide mixers I just wanted that one to mix the cake batter but even that proved to be a bit much for the Sunbeam, because I make large quantities of batter. I gave the Sunbeam to my daughter who bakes very little. It was not worth the money. I love my KA's.

My Mother in law gave me her old sunbeam... and by old i mean she may have gotten it as a wedding present, still has the glass bowl and everything. It's an amazing mixer and it still works great. I also have the KA artisan and I use it more often than the sunbeam only because the sunbeam only has the small glass mixing bowl left (the others have been broken over the years) and it's usually not big enough for what I'm doing.

Vintage Sunbeams are awesome, can't say anything one way or the other about new ones.

Just upgraded form a Sunbeam to a kitchenaid! I didn't have any problems with it but it's just not built for fondant/big quantities etc so I didn't even try. Try and get your money back and put it towards a kitchenaid - love mine so far!

I just acquired a used Sunbeam Mix Master from a friend last week when my Cuisinart pooped out on me after my first batch of buttercream!

it's an older model, looks like from the 80's and it works wonderfully! It has small and large SS bowls, beaters and dough hooks. So far I'm loving it and I read all the time that the older models are MUCH better than the newer ones! I mean "plastic gears"?!?! Come on! I think a man who doesn't bake (or woman for that matter) made that cheap mistake! LOL!

I've made 2 cakes and 4 batches of different BC and it's run perfectly! When it does finally give out I'll probably convert to a KA if I can't find another older model Sunbeam!

I LOVE my kitchen aid and I could not live without it!!


I recently upgraded from an artisan to the 6qt. Pro series with the understanding that I would sell my artisan to cover some of the cost of the pro.

Well. I couldn't part with Daisy(my artisan KA) and Lucielle (6 qt pro) would be lost without her LOL

Ok I know it sounds strange to name them but I just love them so much, my husband says they are my adopted kids LOL.

My sister still has a KA that our dad used that is over 30 years old...and I hope to have Daisy and Lucy for just as long if not longer.

THanks NAti!!! I'd love to get bigger bowls and start using that machine more!

Thanks for all the feedback! I am officially going to purchase a Kitchenaid first thing tomorrow morning. JC Penny has it for $259.99 with a $40 rebate. I think I am going to send my Sunbeam back to the company for repair and keep it as a backup in case anything ever happens to the new one.

On a side note a local college is having a liquidation auction this saturday and I have it on good authority that they will be auctioning off a very old Kitchenaid floor stand mixer. (Is that what it is called? It is one of the monster ones that is huge and is self standing) I think I may just go on the off chance that no one bids on it and I can get it for $50 or so bucks. Hey, I can dream can't I? It is a very small town and I may get lucky. We shall see!

Thanks everybody!

I had that Sunbeam mixer. I didn't have any problems with it, until my husband wedged a wooden spoon between the beaters while he was mixing cookie dough!
That's when he bought me a red KA from Amazon.com for 129.99. Woo-hoo...LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!

You will never regret buying a Kitchenaid!! I've went to many restaurant closing auctions here but have never been successful, (which may be a good thing since I can picture my DH's expression as I walk in with a huge mixer, lol!) I hope you get the mixer!!

I have a KA and LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! They are wonderful! Mine is guaranteed for a lifetime..but I've never had any problems with it.

I have a friend that's had her's for about 30 years...she had one issue with it a couple of years ago, called KA, and they fixed it for free.

Wonderful stuff!

It's worth it to spend the extra $100 to get a KA!

My first stand mixer a couple of years ago was a Sunbeam from Walmart. It was all I could afford at the time. It served it purpose and was moved aside never to be used again. I have a refurb. KA 6qt. Pro model and love it!

My mom also had that avocado mixer as cakevision's. she got it as a wedding present in 1979. I can remember her using it my whole life, she always had to hold the cord a certain way to make it work, (don't really know what was wrong with it it may have had a short) And she loved it. she never used anything else. It finally died about 5 yrs ago.

I just bought my second Sunbeam mixer and I had and still have the old one with the glass bowls('83 still working) and would never exchange them for something else. I just love the fact that I can turn the bowl and scape the sides of bowl without stopping the mixer. I do not mix large amount of fondant , probably the reason I don't dislike it, for buttercream icing two thumbs up for me!!

i bought a KA Pro 600 on-line. I think they were coming out with the PRO 610 model, so I got a good deal on the 600 AND a $40 gift card AND a subscription to Food & Wine mag. Return the Sunbeam, and look for a good deal on a KA - you won't be sorry!