This makes me terribly sad! I waited a long time for my kitchen aid mixer and to hear something like this is horrible!

So, the mixer worked at her house...but the story about the outlets is very fishy.

Did you two exchange e-mails about the mixer? That would be your "written proof". I hope her ad is still posted at least, or you have it via e-mail.

Any other correspondence you have with her about this broken mixer you should do via e-mail so you'll have proof if you do decided to take it to court. I believe you would have a case if she said that the mixer was in working order.

Sounds to me like the mixer worked off and on, and the seller was tired of dealing with it, so decided to make a little money of it. Even people who SEEM to have WEALTH, can be dishonest. If I sell something that doesn't work properly all of the time, I make sure the buyer is aware, and I price it for a steal. Sounds like you were s#*^W%!

You could try calling KitchenAid's 1-800 number (I'm sure the company has one) to see if they can recommend a repair shop in your area, so you can find out whether there's a possible fix that won't cost you too much money.

I wonder if one of the wires in the cord is broken and it only connects when the cord is in the right position. Can you try moving the cord around a little and see if it turns on at all?

Thanks for the support and ideas.

I've called KA and they gave me a name and number for a local authorized repair shop. No answer there--must be out of business.

We've wiggled and wiggled and wiggled the cord.

I hate this.

Oh, how sad! I feel your pain. You must be so disappointed.

I'd do a web search and see if there are any other small appliance repair shops that work on KA mixers.
What raises my suspicion about the whole deal is the fact there's no label showing model & serial number. Those labels rarely, if ever, come off. They're made to last!

That's true, but why wouls someone take off the labels?

clemsonian - That's a good idea. The cord problem has happened to me before. BTW - I am from Anderson. :)

If you have emails and othere correspondances with this person you can take them to small claims court. I have seen other claims tried on "Judge Judy" about dishonest CL purchased and she always awareded the money back to the purchaser.

Before you go to small claims court you could call this woman back up and tell her that the mixer doesn't work and that you want your money back. She might give it to you.

It certainly sounds like she knew the mixer was defective and deliberately took advantage of an unsuspecting buyer. The "faulty" outlets in her expensive home, the elaborate, cockamamie story about preferring her old mixer, and the missing label and serial number are all very suspicious. Too bad you didn't pay by check. (I know most sellers won't accept them.) Just for the record, I've had my basic KitchenAid mixer for almost twenty years, and the label is still securely attached, even though I use the machine regularly and have even lent it out on many occasions.

If you have a copy of her original ad and the emails and phone messages that you exchanged, you could take her to Small Claims Court and have a pretty good chance of winning. Just the threat of it may be enough to help her see reason. I suspect that she purchased a black market machine, possibly off eBay, that had had its label & serial number removed because the machine didn't pass QA. For all you know, she paid even less than your BRO and made money on the deal.

Obviously, even though the machine sounds fairly new, you can't get if fixed under warranty because you don't have the serial number. It probably wouldn't be worthwhile to take it to a repair service. It sounds like your husband is pretty handy. Maybe he could fix it himself, if you can get the parts. Here's a source for KA mixer parts:

http://www.marbeck.com/mixers_kitchenaid_parts.html

Unfortunately, if it's the circuit board, it won't be a cheap fix. There may be a cheaper source, if you search.

I've also included a link to FixYa, where you can post a question. One of the answers to the "No Power Sometimes" post gives pretty good generic instructions for troubleshooting power problems.

The more I think about it, the more I think Small Claims Court would be your best recourse. If you're like me, you'd also get some personal satisfaction in seeing her get her comeuppance and knowing that she'd be less likely to try to snooker someone else.

Good luck!

P.S. Be sure to send all correspondence to her through certified mail.

Here is a link that might be useful: FixYa Problems & Solutions for KitchenAid Pro 6 Mixer

I hope you can get it fixed for not a lot of money. What is odd is that if she knew the outlet was broken, then why did she use it to test the mixer on?

Thanks again for all the support and advice. I sent a very detailed email requesting a refund, and when I called the second time, the wife agreed. I just brought the mixer back, and she gave me an envelope with the full payment price in cash. She was tight and unfriendly and repeated that her husband wasn't happy with her, since the mixer was working when I took it out of the house. It was a very unpleasant moment, but I did get a full refund (not counting 4 hours of driving + hours spent trying to daignose and fix the problem.)

Thanks again for all the ideas and kind wishes. I guess I'll never know what the real story was, but I'm glad it's over now.

too bad you didn't ask her to plug in something else into that "bad" outlet when you went back....I bet it would have worked. shame on them, if the outlet was truly bad, don't you think she would have known that when you went there in the first place and automatically plugged it into a different one? Glad you got your money back, now if you could only get that time back.

Here's my sad CL story:

I once gave a guy a $100 deposit to hold a Vulcan range for me. He was selling 2 of them because he was getting out of the the catering business he had just started. The one I wanted was used twice. We were the first to see them. But once we did some research later that night we realized that we were possibly going to burn our house down with that range, we told him of our change of heart--he said no problem, already had another buyer. I mailed him back the manual we took, and he told me repeatedly that he would send my deposit back....funny, it never arrived. This guy is a contractor too--can't even imagine hiring someone this dishonest to work in my home.

WOW! It sounds like a little bit of guilt might have set in with her. Glad she decided to do the right thing and refund your money. I'd be interested to know if they relist the item on craigslist.

We had a similar situation involving a washing machine we had purchased for our DS and his GF. It was from a local CL ad and the people lived a short distance from us. When we picked the washer up I asked the wife if we could please try it out to be certain there were no problems (they had already unplugged it). She swore up and down, as did her husband, that the washer was perfectly good and there were no problems. Swore up and down she did. They seemed like nice enough folks, other than the wife seeming a bit scatterbrained. They were selling the washer because they had ordered a new FL.
We put the washer in our truck and went on our way to our DS's, hooked it up and set it in place. About an hour later we got a call from DS and GF letting us know the washer was leaking all over the floor. Long story short, the bottom of the washer drum was coroded (we didn't turn the darn thing upside down). I called the people and left a detailed message explaining the situation and asking in a seemingly naieve manner how on earth they hadn't noticed it was leaking, and leaking badly at that. No return call. I waited two days and called again. They were both retired so I figured they had a bit of time on their hands for a return phone call. Again no call back. The third time I called was the charm because I explained on my message to them that if they didn't return my phone call I would have no recourse but to take them to the local small claims court and would more than likely be awarded the money. Bingo! A phone call followed shortly with profuse apologies and the offer of our money back.
Sometimes all is not as it appears and you have to take off the kid gloves. I'm glad it worked out well for you. I think we're some of the luckier ones.

I had an similar experience but mine did not have a happy ending. I saw a sectional on CL and when I saw it, it wasn't pristine but it was going in the FR that the teens use so it would be perfect. She told me that she only used it during holidays when she had company and she has always just removed the covers and washed them in the machine. So I paid her cash and off we went. In the van on the way home, I realized it reeked of smoke so she obviously wasn't completely honest. I then started to wash the covers in the machine and when they came out of the dryer they were totally shredded. There was almost no fibers left on the threads. Impossible to salvage.

So I called the lady and asked for my money back and she refused. I told her I was planning to take her to small claims to get my money and she said "what money? You didn't give me any money". I said I was going to leave the sofa on her lawn (let her pay the dump fee) and she threatened to call the cops and complain I was trespassing if I did.

Bottom line, for every CL purchase I have made since, I always write a check with specific info on the check itself as to what it is for. I give them enough time to cash the check before I get the item. Even though I have purchased some pricey items no one has given me a hard time. I think it is because they realize that with the check as proof I would have a greater chance to resolve any issues in small claims.

We once sold a chest freezer at a garage sale (pre CL days), which was working fine in our garage. The people took it home and couldn't get it to work. We had no problem taking it back. I can't remember how we ended up disposing of it, but I felt that it was the right thing to do to give them their money back.

Good for you! I am so happy that you got your money back. There's no way that this seller was on the up-and-up. I wouldn't be surprised if she turns around and re-posts it on CL. If she re-posts it and doesn't mention the problem, I'd post a public warning message.