Too Darn LOUD! I returned it.

My 20 year old Sharp Carousel II microwave oven died recently. I thought it would be easy to find a replacement, but no -- seems like every microwave oven made today is a piece of junk that only last a few years.

I hadn't done any research before buying this microwave oven, because I thought "how hard can this be...it's a low price appliance!" I went to Best Buy and got this GE Microwave for about $99. It looked nice, had good features, was the right size, and a good price. I wasn't crazy about the stainless steel, but my appliances are off-white, and it can be hard to match that.

Anyway, I got it home with full intentions of keeping it. Plugged it in, set the clock, and put in a mug of cold water to test it. This thing is LOUD. It sounded the way my Sharp did when it broke -- a very loud humming sound. There was also lots of vibration. At first I thought perhaps it was too close the wall, so I moved it away from anything else that is on the countertop. No, it is the microwave. The thing is just very loud -- annoyingly loud!

It seemed to heat the mug of water pretty efficiently, but frankly I didn't think I could live with an appliance that is so noisy. I was very disappointed. I have high-end GE appliances in my home (including an Advantium oven) and they are not this loud. I looked on Amazon and found several consumer ratings that said the same thing about this microwave oven -- very loud, weird vibration and hum. I wish I'd done my research before just going out and picking this model off the shelf.

I took it back to Best Buy and got my money back. Now I'm trying to figure out which OTHER brand to buy (in a mid-size countertop model). It's not easy. Look at Consumer Reports and also the reviews on this website as well as Amazon and Sears and you'll see that there is no clear-cut choice for a mid-sized countertop microwave oven. They all seem to break within 2 years of purchase. The ones highly rated in Consumer Reports are NOT rated highly by consumers themselves.

My advice to you is: Do your research (a real pain for a stupid $100 appliance, but unfortunately, it is necessary). Compare consumer (user) reviews in epinions, Amazon, Consumer Reports, and Sears websites for a full picture of the product you intend to purchase.

I would also buy the extended warranty on a microwave (IF it means that it will be replaced if it conks out within the regular warrany). According to consumer reviews, many of the Kenmore microwaves seem to break within DAYS after the regular warranty expires!

(Sigh) They just aren't making appliances like they used to....I'm seriously wondering if I could just get my old Sharp microwave fixed. It was a great workhorse and it looked pretty good in my kitchen.