DO NOT BUY (see the Updates at the end). The motor is great, but the jar will fail. When it does, there is NO warranty support for the jar. You can buy a new one, which seems to never in be in stock (see Oster website for customer reviews). Save your money, and buy a Vita Mix instead. I'm downgrading to 1 star after 2nd jar failure in 4 years. Junk jar design, and no support for a clearly flawed product (see other reviews, and Oster website customer reviews). Original Review: We've been using this blender for about a month, and said simply it is outstanding. Average use is at least once per day, and often more. We use it for yogurt-fruit smoothies, a variety of salsas, blended soups, and very thick adobo sauces. It has performed flawlessly in every application, and cleanup is a breeze (simply follow the blender jar cleaning instructions in the manual and it cleans up very easily). Oster has done a great job in design and engineering, and presented a great value for the home kitchen. I've used a number of Vitamix professional-grade blenders many times in professional/commercial kitchens. While I always wanted one for home the $500-$600 price tag kept me away. I finally broke down and was ready to buy one, but then in the course of searching Amazon found this. Given that it sells here for less than half the price of the Vitamix, we took the gamble that the reviews here were sound an bought the Oster. In my hands, after a few weeks, I find the Oster VERSA 1400-watt blender every bit as good for the home as the professional-grade Vitamix blenders. The noise level is about the same as the Vitamix, the blending efficiency is every bit as good, and the size is about identical for the newer models designed to fit on home counters with cabinets above (shorter-wider jar). The program smoothie function is a real plus - works beautifully on yogurt-fruit smoothies, even with frozen fruits. The blended products pour easily from the jar - no mess. The Oster has the same warranty period as the Vitamix (7 years), performs just as well in blending yogurt smoothies, salsas, soups and adobos, and appears to be every bit as durable. We are extremely pleased with the blender, and even if it doesn't hold up as well over the longer term, we can buy two of these for less than the price of one Vitamix blender (but with a 7-year warranty I doubt that will be an issue). I don't know if it would hold up as well in the abusive environment of professional kitchens, but for the home I see absolutely no advantage for the Vitamix. The only cons I have are: (1.) with the jar on the base it misses fitting on our counter with cabinets above by about 1/2", and (2.) the minimum volume for this type of blender to be effective is ~ 2 cups. Storage is not really a problem - we store the jar on the countertop right next to the base, pushed back against the wall. Everything is out of the way, and ready for immediate use. The comparable Vitamix would have the same issue. Minimum volume is the same for the same size and style blender jar on the Vitamix. These are not designed for small volumes. I highly recommend this blender to anyone who wants a real food blender (as opposed to a bar blender), is thinking about a Vitamix, and wants one at less than half the price for the equivalent blender. You won't be disappointed. UPDATE 6/15/2016: After 2 years of average daily use as described in the original review I noticed some black greasy-looking sludge building up under the the blender jar drive base, along with regular moisture accumulation up inside the stainless steel body of the jar base. On close inspection, viewing from the top of the jar to the base some liquid was clearly trapped beneath the jar body and the top of the metal drive base. Spinning the gear on the bottom of the jar by hand made it clear that there was rough metal-on-metal grinding, suggesting a bearing or something similar inside the jar's base was shot. I removed the blade via the bolt inside the jar, and found a lot black ground metal sludge under the blade and washer. Removing the drive shaft and splined gear exposed the bearing race, which was clearly shot and grinding itself to destruction. From this experience, and other reviews posted more recently, it is clear that the drive system integrated into the permanently attached jar base is a significant weakness in Oster's design. There have been multiple failures reported. The ugly side is as the bearing & shaft system wear, some of the finely ground metal will end up being blended into the contents of the jar. Clearly, this is an undesirable a design flaw. For that reason, and the fact the same kind of failure has been recounted by several others in these reviews, I have altered my original 5-star rating to 2 stars. No I won't be recommending this blender to anyone nor would I buy it again, unless Oster comes out with a new jar base drive design that precludes these problems. It was great while it lasted, but it didn't last (2 years), and the contamination issue is real and significant. Update No. 2: 4/18/18 -- the second blender jar died this morning, repeating the same bearing failure as the first blender jar. Based on ~ 4 years of approximately daily use, a blender jar will last about 2 years. Replacement jar from Oster is $39.00, but at the time I write this, they are out of stock. Sucks. Looking at the Oster website, this failure is a frequent problem. Talking with Oster's customer service folks, there is NO warranty support for the blender jars, which they have NOT had for at least 3 months. If you want a blender that will be useable and serviceable for more than two years, look elsewhere.
