Vitamix

[Cindyg]

I want a Vitamix. I have 2 blenders in my house -- one cheap and one expensive (Kitchenaid). Both are garbage. The expensive one can't blend a (raw) banana in milk, and the cheap one at random intervals leaks all over my kitchen counter. Argh!

 

But I'm dumbfounded at the cost of the Vitamix. The mid-range model is $550! How can a blender be worth $550? Does it cost $550 to blend a banana without leaking on the kitchen counter?

 

And my serious question -- is there anywhere to get these at a discount?

 

I don't want to throw good money after bad by buying another random brand that might be as bad as my current two. I've read enough testimonials on the Vitamix to be sure it's a keeper. But $550 for a blender? I just want a smoothie! Is that really what I need?

[Claire]

Here's the pro-model KitchenAid blender I have: Amazon link. It blends *frozen* bananas for our smoothies just fine. I would be very surprised if this is the blender you have. My bet is you have the $99 KitchenAid blender. Cost is less than half of the VitaMix.

 

Our Sam's Club has a VitaMix demo about once a year, and they sell it at a special reduced price during that week. Can't remember what that price is, though, or exactly what time of year. I think they travel around to different Sam's Clubs on a yearly basis. If you are a Sam's Club member, maybe you could call to find out if they're scheduled to come anytime soon.

 

Just wanted to warn you about the decibel level of the VitaMix. Now, mine was an older version (all stainless steel) and this was 10 or 15 years ago. However, it sounded like a jet airplane engine in my kitchen. As I mentioned in another post, we are very conservative about noise pollution in our house because dh suffers permanent hearing loss from exposure to high-decibel sound. Maybe the new VM's are more quiet, but I would never expose children to the sound of the old VM. (Children's auditory systems are much more vulnerable to damage than adults.) I also didn't want to expose my own auditory system to the decibel level of the VitaMix, so I got rid of mine. My pro-line KitchenAid blender is *not* that loud and I would have no problem using it with children in the room.

[Nancy in MI]

If all you want it for is to make smoothies, I would say, no, it's not worth it. However, I also use mine for grinding flour and making hot soups. I use it at least once a day, often more. So for me it was definitely worth the price!

 

HTH:)

Nancy

[Basketmaker Amy]

We love ours, too! We use it at least once a day.