I purchased some cake pans on-line and when they came I was not happy with them... should have consulted CC'ers before I made my purchase! Now I want to buy a kitchenaid mixer. Which one should I buy?

I'm very satisfied with my 6qt mixer. You might want to buy an extra bowl and beater with it, too.

Do people have the tilt head or the bowl lift options? (I'm using a tilt head, but I'm curious how the bowl life works, because I hate the tilting head most days)

Sorry about your cake pans, I swear by Magic Line, hands down.

If you are planning on doing volume, get a larger mixer.
If you are whipping up normal sized batches, go with an Artisan.

I have both the KA Pro-600 and an Artisan. I got the Pro-600 first as a gift, but got an Artisan for myself for the tilt head (the other has a bowl lift).
They sit side-by-side on my counter but I seem to use the Artisan more because I like the convenience of a tilt-head, and it's a better size for whipping. When I am doing larger jobs with more batter, I use the Pro.

Good luck, HTH! You won't be disappointed either way. Ebay has a bunch of KA, but after shipping costs I found it cheaper to go to BedBathBeyond with a coupon.

Clovers, the bowl lift is ok, but it makes it more difficult to add ingredients without making a mess. The tilt head is so much more convenient!

Going by the name, the bowl obviously lifts on Bowl Lift.. but what's the point in having it lift up? From the pictures, it seems like there is a lot of space between the bowl and the top of the head of the mixer.. what's the lift for?

I absolutely love my 6qt KA. I prefer the lift bowl to the tilt as space is an issue for me, My Kitchen I can literally stand with arms outstretched and touch both walls and I have no counter space. Apart from than that, the higher powered motor is nice especially when making fondant less strain on the motor is a good thing.

you DROP the bowl to add stuff (with beater turned OFF -- don't ask how I know )

and then LIFT the bowl to mix (ok now turn it on -- slowly to start and then ramp it up)

DITTO - to extra bowl

and KA is now making a special with 3-qt bowl and matching beater for the 5qt and 6qt lift bowl models.

I have a 6qt also. I absolutely love it! I can't imagine making fondant with a smaller mixer, it's quite a load. I make double batches of frosting also with no problems. I only have one bowl and would love to have another but I think they are around $50. I bought my KA on the KA site. It was cheep because it was a refurbished model. It's never given me any problems.

I have a Kitchen Aid tilt head 51/2 Quarts had it for two years now and it works great for me got it from Macy's on sale for $199

thanks for the advice. It sounds I can't go wrong with any of them. Probably go with the 6 quart.
Thanks!

Yeah, I guess if I had to choose between the two for power and volume, the 6 Qt. is the way to go. Especially for making fondant, which I don't do often but find I am about to have to since not enough time to order it. The motor is definitely more equipped for that than the Artisan.

Lately I have not had much time for large cakes and find myself doing small jobs with the Artisan, because it's easier. And I like not having to remove the paddle to remove the bowl like you do on the bowl lift. With a tilt head I can scrape whatevers on the paddle right into the bowl and leave it there.

I love them both, but for different reasons. Guess it depends on what you will be using it for. Glad to hear they are making a small bowl and paddle for the 6 Qt. and would recommend that as an extra bowl if you are ever going to whip a small amount of liquid, it whips better in a smaller bowl.

Thanks for posting this question momba, I too am in the market for a mixer. Thanks everyone for their info, I believe I will be purchasing the 6qt KA. Happy mixing everyone!

I LOVE my 6qt. You should definitely buy an extra bowl though. I love the bowl lift much better than the tilt head on the other models. Check out Amazon, I got mine there for a great deal. Make sure you check the price on different colors too. Mine was over $100 cheaper just because it was a less popular color!