Great toaster that has lasted 12 years! Has always worked well but I have just decided to replace this toaster after it not holding the toast down on one side. I’m feeling sad now.

I'm fussy about how my toast is toasted and rate this as the best ever. Evenly toasted bead, crumpets and also handles the impossible GF breads well. Its survived four hungry teenagers, and was purchased in approx 2009 and is still going strong. Now researching to downsize to a 2 slice toaster as the teenagers have grown and moved out, you guessed it, our eldest wants the toaster once we downsize...... (PS: I'm an electrical tradie so also fussy about build quality, its passed every test)

Browned toast, crumpets, muffins and bread rolls perfectly every time.
Bought from David Jones for about $100+
We have several Sunbeam kitchen appliances and they never let us down. Highly recommend Sunbeam.

The element died this morning, 20 days past the end of the 5 year warranty period! While reliable, I agree that it is slow. I don’t think it is work my time heading to a service centre and trying to get Sunbeam to replace the element under warranty. I’ll probably just buy another brand.

Very disappointed, had the cafe toaster for just over 2 years and the lever broke- very poor and flimsy design, the plastic part that houses the lever is just not robust enough!

this toaster became unusable after the guarantee ended. The lever to lower the bread was loose, so that it could not be pushed down. I disassembled the toaster and found that this metal lever goes in to a small plastic sleeve, which had broken. I think the plastic sleeve seemed too flimsy to support the pressure of multiple uses of the lever.
[uncertain about exact purchase date]

Bought this thing because it appeared to be well made and looked good - after all - it's a toaster; what can go wrong.

Added benefit (still advertised) is that the heating elements are replaceable. Sounds good.

Worked fine for about 6 months and then it started to take longer and longer to toast bread. In the end it was dialed up to 6 and still would not toast properly.

Went to replace the heating elements. Can't buy them. Only sold to authorised repairers and only if the repairer installs them. Cost more than a new one.

What a waste of money.

I purchased the Cafe Series - second one - first one lasted about ten years. I set it up and made sure all packaging was removed. I engaged the lever to test it out and there was a really strong smell of burning plastic. I tried again about an hour later and same thing. Not keen on using it now. Have no idea what it could be and nothing in instruction manual. ??

i've had duralits but thought i'd give this make a go. solidly made but the slowest toaster i've ever come across.for the price you would think sumbeam would have the best elements. obviously not so.going back to my duralits.they are miles in front of sunbeam.really sorry i wasted my money thinking i was getting something similar to a duralit.

This is a good toaster... but a dangerous toaster.
The first time I loaded a slice of toast, the elevator jumped off its rails toward the bottom of its stroke causing the elevator to lean over and touch the heater element.
Zap!!
I believe that poor packaging can lead to the knobs at the front buckling the elevator.

So far have owned a Breville BTA845 and a Dualit architect and we have found this toaster toasts more evenly and consistently. The only negatives is the lack of a lift and look feature and it is marginally slower than the others, this may be due to its ability to accommodate thick slices (therefore a normal toast slice sits further from the elements)

I purchaed this thinking it would be great, as the other sunbeam items I own are great ( the coffee maker rocks ). This toaster cooks evenly and well. But, it is so slow, Id like it if it were twice as fast as what it is. I wouldnt buy this toaster again.

I purchased the cafe series four slot toaster for my daughter around ten years ago and love making toast at her house...best ever, so hot and evenly toasted, and fluffy inside. Don't understand the comments that complain about the time it takes to toast..sometimes a little more time will result in a much better outcome. A family of six and used every day, often more than just breakfast time. Hasn't missed a beat. This will be my next toaster.

Was very happy with this toaster for several years.
Toasted perfectly on setting 3 but over time I've had to gradually increase the time up to the point it now has to be on the highest setting and has to be pushed down for some additional time.
The elements don't even glow red. Have checked supply voltage and it is normal 220 to 245.
Has anyone else experienced this.

Brought two of these (one for the batch) both developed fault within a couple of years, toast won't stay down, don't appear to be any service manuals available so spoke to a authorised sunbeam service guy who said throw it away, not worth repairing. Brought two king size Sunbeam Electric blankets at the same time (thought Sunbeam was a quality brand) controllers died within 3 years. Service centre centre said buy new controllers but get the cheaper manual versions as the electronic versions (supplied with the blankets) were not designed correctly and fail regularly. Will never buy another Sunbeam product - ever.

My toaster is out of warranty and yes it is quite slow, but it has given us many years of satisfactory performance and has never burnt the toast. My issue is the lever now refuses to stay down and after I went to a Sunbeam outlet they gave me a list of authorised repairers. They told me to even look at it would be $50 when I thought it might be a simple lever connection issue. I hate the whole idea of throwaway products for what appears to probably be a minor problem in an otherwise good product.

Couldnt agree more with all the other reviews. This is without doubt the slowest toaster I have ever experienced. I find it baffling how a company like Sunbeam, with so many years of experience of making electrical appliances cant make a toaster that is consistant and quick. Your irons are good - get the iron R&D team to make a toaster - and whoever has been in charge of development - fire them!!

It seems that the cheapest toasters (like you get at a motel) always work better than the most expensive and brand name models. I watched the elements in complete darkness and they dont glow at all. This was not a cheap toaster and we liked it because it made 4 slices at once. Absolute crap Sunbeam you must be able to do better.