I do love my Vitamix, and it's one of the best kitchen machines I bought. I love smoothies and so it changed my cooking and eating habits... much healthier now, I do feel better.

After previously owning a full-size Vitamix 5200, I bought the S30 when I downsized to a smaller kitchen. Pros: The blender fits nicely and looks great on my counter, and the smaller size is perfect for making smoothies for one. I love that I can put it in the dishwasher. My old 5200 container needed constant scrubbing by hand yet still eventually looked cloudy and gross. Cons: My smoothies and soups are still smooth as ever, but as others have noted, it takes longer to blend ingredients. The extra seconds don't bother me, but I do need to take more effort to make sure no chunks were missed. The S30 easily pulverizes fibrous stems such as kale, but does struggle with frozen banana pieces. I now make a habit of poking around with the tamper to see if any pieces were left behind before pouring... so it's up to you how much this extra step annoys you.

I bought this about a month ago. Our nutritionist at work has been providing healthy recipes and uses a Vitamix for some of the recipes. She said that you could buy a reconditioned appliance and I looked into it. I decided to purchase because I love to cook and thought I would get a lot of use out of it. I make smoothies almost every day and a frozen matcha ginger lemon tea to drink on my way to work. I have made homemade almond and coconut milk and raw marinara sauce that was amazing. I make a butternut squash soup and use the Vitamix to puree. The possibilities are endless and I am glad I made this purchase. It has been well worth it.