I bought our first bread maker in August 2010.
The background for the purchase was that we (my then-partner and I) had become increasingly frustrated at not being able to buy the bread we wanted at the supermarket. All too often, the stocks had run out by the time we came to do our weekly shop (At the time, this was mostly on a Thursday evening, after I had been to the gym, and Chris was attending accountancy classes at Bath College. I should also add that we were both working full time).
The first machine was purchased from a Comet store on the outskirts of Bristol. If my memory serves me correctly, I stopped there en route to a pub quiz. I had already done my research, as well as asking round for opinions from my friends, and had decided which brand of machine I wanted to buy.
The price I was offered was very competitive, so I took up the store’s offer of a three-year warranty, which only cost a few pounds more.
When we came back from holiday in August 2013, the machine stopped working soon after. The timer was still operational, but the motor was no longer mixing the ingredients to form the dough.
In the intervening years, Comet had been one of the many casualties of the recession (caused by the banking crisis). I checked on the company website and it stated that warranties would still be honoured. We were about one week from the end of ours, but I still (thankfully) had the relevant paperwork, so claimed and was given the full purchase price of the machine. This, we put towards the cost of a new machine – a virtual replica of the original one, but costing about £100 (from Curry’s). Again, we obtained a warranty for three years’ cover
That elapsed in August 2016 and in the October of that year, we started getting problems with the machine – it started producing loaves that looked more like bricks. After trying the possible remedies of changing the yeast and the flour (which only produced marginal improvements) we decided to replace the machine.
The latest incarnation (upgraded to include the facility to make both rye bread and sourdough) has been with us since November 2016, having again been purchased from Curry’s (at North Bradley, near Trowbridge).
This time we decided to forego the warranty, as the price was much higher (around £150.00).
As I transcribe this piece, in September 2019, our third bread maker is approaching its third anniversary and we are holding our breath…
Update – January 2020
The bread maker is still working, although I am having to be careful not to use yeast or flour anywhere near its best-before date (as we have had some questionable results in the past few months). This means that it is now 3 years and 2 months old and has now outlived both of its predecessors. Maybe spending a bit more money to get a higher-specification model was a good decision.
Update – September 2023
I’m pleased to say that the bread maker we bought in November 2016 is still going strong (fingers crossed) and approaching its seventh birthday. I decided to write an update at this point because a few weeks ago, I managed to source a replacement part; to whit the raisin and nut dispenser. I don’t generally need it, but wanted to find out if it was possible to purchase and fit one. The most difficult part of this process was finding out which exact model we have, as there are several with the same general code. Fortunately, I was able to locate the relevant information on the back of the machine and the part was duly ordered; arriving within a week or so. Removing the old part and putting in the new one was one of the easiest processes I’ve ever undertaken – probably a total of 10 seconds for both actions. It’s given me enormous satisfaction to be able to do this.
Write on 