There has been
a Vita-Mix® in my household since the early 1980's, and my
family has considered it to be the most indispensible of all
kitchen tools since that time. Our first was the 3600, then
we gave that one to one of our children and upgraded to the
4000. When the 5000 came out, we were one of the first to
get one. We still have that unit in our kitchen, even though
we have used it extensively nearly every day for all those
years.
I believe that
we hold the distinction to be one of the few--if not the
only ones--to have burned up a motor in a Vita-Mix®. My wife
is not one for understanding overload stresses, and many
times I entered the kitchen to hear the poor Vita-Mix®
groaning from attempting to churn putty-like consistencies.
One of those times was just too much for it to handle.
I vividly
remember the incredulous response from the Vita-Mix®
operator when I told her that our unit needed repair because
we had burned up the motor. Her response was "I don't think
so! What exactly is it doing to make you think that?"
When I told her
that it was filling our kitchen with black smoke when we
turned it on, she exclaimed "Oh, my gosh! I have never heard
of that happening in all the years I have worked here!" I
see on their web site now that they are using a different
motor--one that they get from Sweden that they say runs
cooler. Maybe my motor was the beginning of a trend ...
What astounded
me about Vita-Mix® resulting from that experience was the
speed at which we received the unit back from repair. I
over-nighted it to them because I couldn't bear the idea of
being without it. A day later Airborne came to the door with
the box I had returned it to them in. I was initially angry
because I thought they had screwed up and brought the
defective unit back to me. The driver assured me that it had
come from Vita-Mix®, so I opened it to find a brand-new base
inside. Since I had over-nighted it to them, they over-nighted
it back. Amazing customer service. I wonder if they still do
that ...
I don't have
any experience with the new 5200, but I can tell you
confidently that the 5000 will do everything that the
Blendtec® will do. It may not be as fast, as convenient or
as 'cool-looking," but it will definitely get the job done,
and it will continue to do so for many years. We choose to
eat mostly raw foods, so our super-blender is put into play
several times every day. In all those years we have worn out
two sets of blade bearings (and destroyed the motor as
previously mentioned) but other than that it has been
there for every use and abuse that we have given it. The
motor and one blade set were covered under warranty, so the
first significant maintenance issue we have had is the
second blade set.
In attempting
to purchase a new blade set, the web site advised me that
they were out of stock. This continued over a few weeks.
Meanwhile, I destroyed two theoretically ice-crushing
Oster® blenders that I purchased to hold us over until I
could get a new blade assembly for the Vita-Mix®. Faced with
the apparent choice of buying a whole new unit, I decided to
take the recommendation of a friend who has both a Vita-Mix®
5200 and a Blendtec®. He told me that he prefers his
Blendtec®. The Blendtec was also less expensive, so I bought
one. I must admit, I prefer the Blendtec® also, but I am
keeping the Vita-Mix® in case (1) blade assemblies ever
become available again, and (2) the Blendtec® turns out to
be less reliable than a Vita-Mix®. With only a 3-year
warranty on the Blendtec® and a 7 year warranty on the
Vita-Mix®, that could make all the difference in the world.
