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vitamix

post #1 of 12
9/24/03 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Everyone,
I'm looking to buy a Vitamix. I looked at half.com, amazon.com, and Ebay. Any other suggetions where I can get one at a good price?

Thanks!:lips:
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post #2 of 12
9/29/03 at 8:57am
I bought 2 Vita Mix 4000 Maxies on Ebay this summer and have been very happy with them. I believe these were the last stainless steel container models w/ spout and forward and reverse blade action marketed in the early to mid-90s. I paid less than $200 each for them. I found one locally that I bid on, won and picked it up and avoided the shipping charges. The other was shipped only about 400 miles. I looked for units where I could bid at the last minute and were in my general geographic area. These old units have chrome bases and stainless containers, so they are quite heavy. They came with all the accessories incl recipe book, tamper, and video. They were in excellent condition, one seemed new. Patience is the key. I watched every unit for sale on ebay and checked for new ones frequently. I think the interest is intermittent and prices rise and fall with this interest. Almost all the parts are available from the manufacturer, expect to replace the gasket on the container lids frequently. The 3600 and 3600 plus are about the same, but less powerful (I think?) I had wanted a vitamix for some time but had not seen any in local yard sales or fleamarkets and ebay seems to have a dozen or more for sale at any one time. I work for a non-profit so paying $500 or more was out of the question. Good luck with your search.
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post #3 of 12
1/23/10 at 4:17pm
We got a vitamix a few weeks ago and I love it! We have made all kinds of stuff in it. I especially love the soups it makes. I also have a smoothie every morning. It really helps get all the recommended vegetables and fruits in your diet.
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post #4 of 12
1/23/10 at 7:27pm
Have you also tried Chefscatalog.com or Cooking.com?

These machines, as you might have found out, are by no means cheap.

There IS however, a cheaper version of the machine availible if this one is or seems too far out of your reach. For almost 1/2 the price!

To see it, go here;

http://www.healthmastersale.com .

Tried to save a pic of it, but that particular website won't let me, telling me that it has been copyrighted.

But the machine, in and of itself, has a much better warranty - covering the motor for a whopping ONE HUNDRED years!! That is a pretty long time, the longest warranty that I've EVER seen on ANYTHING!!!
I'm a Supreme fan of Bentley Green & Aaron McCargo Jr.!


~Shermie.
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post #5 of 12
1/24/10 at 2:29am
Stumbled over a VitaMix demo at Costco over a year ago - it was $400 instead of $450, so I bought one; the 5200. That was before the stock market tanked, so I thought I could afford it. Now, I know better, but it's on the kitchen counter and, any day now, I'm going to puree a coconut, just to see how much it will handle. This is a big-ticket item that it pays to wait for.

Example- the cover to our Cuisinart food processor broke. We've had it for many years, and I've been surfing the net for a replacement. Just got a flyer from Bloomingdales - they will have a one-day special next Saturday and the same size - 11-cup - processor is $99.99, so we're going to get a new one instead of spending $55-60 for a replacement part. We've had ours for 16 or 18 years. Just hoping that they haven't "value engineered" the guts out of the thing. (That's GE management terminology, by the way.) It's like KitchenAid (or whoever owns the name now, I don'tthink it's Hobart) putting plastic gears into their stand mixer instead of metal ones. We bought our KA in about 1972 and its metal gears are still going strong.

I just saw a similar demo at Costco for the other high-end blender (forget the name - BlendTek?) and it was $375. The demo guy made a big point of how light it was; sure enough, it weighs about 1/3 as much as the VitaMix 5200.

With me, the more a motor weighs, the better.

Anyway, hang in there.

Mike :rolleyes:
travelling gourmand
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post #6 of 12
1/24/10 at 7:07am
Shermie,

I don't know anything about that machine. But their site sure needs cleaning up. Among other things, it says that the machine replaces a 10 foot chef's knife.

Typos aside, I'd be concerned about self-contradictory claims. On one page it says it cannot be used to grind grains. But in the FAQ it says you can make flour with it. What gives with that?

For sure the price is appealing. But I'd want to look more closely into this before purchasing one.
They have taken the oath of the brother in blood, in leavened bread and salt. Rudyard Kipling
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post #7 of 12
1/24/10 at 7:58am
Yeah, you can make flour with it, but it's not a grain mill. One for the books, hey?

But I wouldn't be using it for ANY grain milling if I were to buy it because I already have a separate electric grain mill.

I'd just want it for the fact that I'd be able to make healthy drinks, frozen smoothies and hot soups, which only this machine and the Vitamix one can do. :roll:
I'm a Supreme fan of Bentley Green & Aaron McCargo Jr.!


~Shermie.
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post #8 of 12
1/24/10 at 8:15am
Hi, Mike.

Whirlpool owns the K'Aid name now. Hobart sold it to them in '85 or '86.

If this eases your concerns at all and makes you feel more relieved;

1. The drive gears and machinery inside both your KA stand mixer and mine are made from a very tough nylon material, not plastic. I used to think that they were metal gears as well. I've had my first one since October, '86, and it's still going strong as well. But it IS very high-torque.

You'd really have to do something awfully & terribly wrong to break it! It is about as strong as an ox.
I've never made any service calls on it except to replace the 5 rubber feet on it. And I did that myself.

2. K'Aid DOES make certain models in the Artisan series and all of the 5 & 6-qt Pro series models to feature metal gears.

3. They were said to have replaced the plastic gear box in the large Pro models with a metal one because the plastic ones were cracking from the normal heat of the gears and pushing the gears out of wack, rendering the machines helpless and useless.

4. I , also, had a Cuisinart food processor, the DLC-7Pro for over 20 years, and also, the cover broke on mine. They DO want too much money for replacement parts. Almost as much as it would cost for a new one!

I've since replaced it with the K'Aid KPFP850PM, their top-of-the-line model. It costs about as much as the Vitamix machine.

The Vitamix machine is sold here in Boston every year at the New England Home Show at a discount. :laser:
I'm a Supreme fan of Bentley Green & Aaron McCargo Jr.!


~Shermie.
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post #9 of 12
1/24/10 at 11:06am
I saw it at Costco too.

I have had mine for years and I absolutely love it

It makes the best smoothies-it breaks the seeds on strawberries so the phytoneutrients are released and become bio-available
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post #10 of 12
1/28/10 at 3:05pm
Missyjean-

Ummm... has it ever occured to you try making a frozen Daiquiri or Marguerita?;)

Try one. You will be amazed! :lol:

Mike
travelling gourmand
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post #11 of 12
1/28/10 at 3:25pm
I can make those with my ice cream machine. :peace:
I'm a Supreme fan of Bentley Green & Aaron McCargo Jr.!


~Shermie.
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post #12 of 12
8/15/11 at 9:24am

The cheapest you'll find is a refurbished one for $379. Vitamix doesn't really have sales and closely regulates how much venders like costco can charge. You have to buy refurbished ones through Vitamix directly, but you can get free shipping ($25) using a Vitamix promotion code from an online affiliate like http://rawblends.com/vitamix-blender. Refurbished ones also come with the same 7 year, no questions asked, warranty.

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