Thoughts on the KitchenAid Mixer

The holy grail of household mixers is the famed KitchenAid Stand Mixer, numerous attachments and endless functions.  Many of my friends and neighbors have them, and I hope to own a nice one some day.
Well, I actually did own one. A few years back while attending the city wide Cyrus garage sale Miss Bee and myself picked up a used one for 6 dollars.  The monster was a putrid puke chartreuse covered with years of grease, dust and grime that left my shirt stained for a weeks from just carrying it. Upon returning home I promptly dispensed nearly an entire bottle of de-greaser on it with moderate results.  During my cleaning I found a small tag riveted on the back which stated something to the effect of Property of Zumbrota Hospital.  The image that was brought instantly to mine was a 70's mental institution repeat with burly black orderlies and stern unyielding nurses.  Not to mention a few loonies in straight jackets moaning in their padded cells.  Incidentally Zumbrota is a small town in central Minnesota that shows no signs of having anything other than a normal little hospital. I retain original impression despite the evidence. 
The beast now clean I ran her through her speeds and other than being a little noisy she worked like a charm.  I'm sure with some basic skills and tools it could be opened up, cleaned and greased and it would work like new.  I never did though, and honestly only owned it about a year, before I sold it to a friend when we moved cross country.  I did not use it very much if I'm to tell the truth, do to limited counter space it lived high up on the cupboard tops and was a chore to bring down.  I don't bake much which is the main use for a mixer with attachments.  I felt sort of guilty about the disuse of the infamous appliance. 
This brings me to my belief that if you have one and you don't use it more than 3 or 4 times a year YOU DON'T NEED IT.  I think this is often a problem for the wealthy since the increased amount of disposable income minimizes the impact of the cost.  If you have one and don't use it often I'm not here to make you feel guilty, but consider your friends, family, neighbors, etc...  and think about giving or selling (at a nice discount) your your most avid cook who does not have one.  
A fine piece of equipment like that deserved to be used often.  I had a hard time giving mine up but I had to be realistic with my lifestyle and cooking habits at the time, and I feel that it went to a better home than I could give it at that time.  Now that Miss Bee has become quite the accomplished baker the idea of owning one isn't so unrealistic down the road.  In the mean time I'll just ogle them from afar.