Sharp R-305KS Stainless Steel 1100 Watts Microwave Oven

Pros: Affordable, plenty of power, reasonably large
Cons: Door mechanism may be troublesome, finish is hard to keep clean

Introduction -< b> Sharp microwaves are well known workhorses. They excel in one very important category. They seem to last forever. The first microwave I ever saw was a Sharp. I pretty much got to know Sharp as "The microwave company" over the years. ...

Pros: Liked design, size, appearance and controls.
Cons: Poor service and poor support.

Initial review was posted as a R 405KS and not the R 305KS that we had - sorry our error. Now reposted in the proper category. - We bought this microwave at SEARS because we liked the design, size, appearance and controls of this microwave. ...

Pros: Pretty; looked nice in kitchen
Cons: Cooked poorly
Short life
Poor service

Had OK Sharp MWs for years, but this was a lemon. Burned popcorn. Got noisy, then failed after 6 months. Local "Factory" service (Eugene, OR) was a hole-in-the-wall, looked like a Droid repair shop out of Star Wars. Decades-old MWs and parts stacked up to the ceiling. I had to call daily for 3 weeks to get it back. Then used sparingly for a month ... got noisy and failed again.

Got an LG. We'll see. My experience with this Sharp product is consistent with recent experience a wide variety of consumer products made in China: even when I get a good product, if I buy the same product again, then it's different (e.g., garden nozzles, exercise shoes). So my guess is that there really aren't "Sharp" MWs, just a variety of look-alike MWs made in any number of Chinese sweat shops with a Sharp label. No way to tell if your product came from the right sweat shop on the right day.

If service matters to you, then I'd go to the Sharp site, ID your local "Factory" service provider, and check it out before you buy.