Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I read the reviews before purchasing this blender because I was trying to decide whether I should spend $400+ for a Vitamix or BlendTec or half that for the Breville... boy am I kicking myself for not spending the extra money! This blender has received a LOT of really good reviews, so when reading the negative reviews, I thought that maybe the people writing them were people who are hard to satisfy... but exactly what these reviewers stated, happened to me! I received this blender on Feb. 26, 2013 and yesterday, June 13, 2013 the motor is stopping after 3 to 5 seconds of blending. If I take the "pitcher" off the base and replace it, I can get 3 to 5 seconds more of blending.... but this only works about 5 times, and then the machine wont turn over at all, no matter what I do ~ AAAAARRRRGGGG!!!! For the past 3 months and 2 weeks, I've used the Breville blender for morning smoothies which consist of frozen berries, kale, spinach, protein powder and water... and this machine has quit working. Shoot, my cheap blender which was replaced with this one, worked as well as the Breville, for 5+ years ... and here I thought I was upgrading! I also wanted to mention that I wasn't happy with this blender right when it arrived, because when you push the button to select your preferred speed, the blender automatically starts a 60 second timer, then shuts off. I use the entire kale leaf, spine and all, and I like them to be completely blended, so I had to push the button three times to get a thorough blend. I didn't like this feature because I had to hang out next to the blender to restart it every 60 seconds, but I convinced myself that it wasn't that big of an inconvenience. Also, two of the little rubber feet came off within the first few months of owning this machine. My blender lives on my counter, so I only move it forward, then back against the wall each morning, so it's really odd to me that with such gentle use, not one, but two rubber feet popped off. I was able to unscrew the little itsy-bitsy screw and washer that (sort of) hold the rubber feet in place, and pop them back on, but it's a hassle. I don't think after a month and a half that a $200 blender should start falling apart, this was my first real doubt in the quality of this machine.... and within another month and a half, it's completely quit working! I'm probably going to return this blender to Amazon, and take a $40 hit like another reviewer said he did... but I don't want a replacement blender from Breville, so.. I'm going to suck it up and spend the extra money for a Vitamix blender ~ or perhaps go back to the cheap blender I previously owned! (which was a cuisinart - about $50) Please feel free to read my other reviews, I don't have many, BUT... they will show you that I don't usually leave negative reviews... but this blender, in my opinion, is a HUNK OF JUNK!