We had a less than satisfactory experience with KitchenAid regarding a blender. When one of the gaskets (jar lid) needed to be replaced, I was informed that the design had been changed and that the part was no longer available. The customer service representative thought that it was completely reasonable not to sell common replacement parts for a unit that was 3 years old. I managed to find the gasket still in stock at an independent appliance repair shop, so the blender did get a new lease on life.

When the second gasket finally gave up the ghost a few months ago, the blender was replaced with a Waring. So far, so good, but we'll see how we feel about it in a few years.