For the last 6 (or more?) months my 5 year old KA Artisan has been leaking grease from the attachement head. We have one business in our city that services KA's and they said it's a relatively common problem and that they would replace the cork for around $125.00. Has anyone had this done? I have often thought about getting the Pro 600 but my counters cannot accomodate its size so that is a major consideration for me. I'm just wondering if this truly is a common problem because I cannot take it anywhere else for a second opinion.

If you put the new, larger KA in a corner on the counter, would your counter accommodate it then? That's where I keep mine.

I have heard it is a common problem. Mine hasn't had that one, but I did burn it up completely making MMF!!! Their price seems a little high, my guy replaced my motor for $65. Try calling at home appliance repair guys, they may have experience with KA even though they don't advertise that way. That is how we found our lifesaver!!! I was using a hand mixer for 3 months and about 20 cakes before I got mine fixed...talk about torture!!!!!

Just yesterday I read this thread in the General Forum "I feel so lucky!!!"
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-684971-lucky.html
where Apti wrote:

You will be kissin' that man a LOT! I just got one off Craigslist for $150 as well. It has the potential for major life changes. By the way, mine was red, I named it Rosie, and had only been used a few times by the owner who got it as a gift. After I'd used for a couple of buttercream batches, I noticed it was leaking oil! AAAGH! Fear! Had I screwed up not buying a new one???

No. I looked up KA leaking on line and got the suggestion to turn it upside down overnight, then the next day, run it at high speed for 2 minutes. The oil had separated from gravity and disuse. Rosie is now fine. Whew!

All the posts say to run it at high speed at least 2 minutes once a month to keep this from happening

Maybe that's all you need... hope you found it interesting.

Thanks everyone for your responses! CWR41 - I was actually just wading through some of the KitchenAid forums and realized that this is a common problem. Thanks for posting the link to the forum and I'll give that a try before going on with any other ideas!