Yes, I bought the Viking mixer through King Arthur Flour when they
had were offering free shipping. I had been wanting one for years
but had balked at spending $500 on a mixer. I'd heard such wonderful
things about it; I was very excited at being able to upgrade.
I took it out of the box, plugged it in, and made two batches of
bread within about a week. It made a dreadful noise and died on the
second batch. I thought I must have gotten a lemon. They were great
about sending someone out to pick it up at their expense. The second
one (a replacement as they were unable to repair the first one)
arrived a week later, and died with the first batch of bread. Oh
please! For $500, I don't think so. I'll stick with my KitchenAid 5
quart. Mine isn't a Hobart but it is a good workhorse. I've only had
it repaired once (I put WAY too much dough in it), and I told the
repair shop I used it for kneading bread dough. I also use mine for
grinding chicken meat and uncooked bones (using the food grinder
attachment, of course).
I push mine hard, and it has served me well. I couldn't believe how
poorly the Viking performed. When I called KA Flour to return it,
the woman with whom I spoke said she had a KA too.
Leigh