We bought our first one from John Lewis (a retirement treat)in 2007. It came with a 5 year guarantee and after 4 years the timer failed (as so many others have reported). To be fair, John Lewis got a replacement for us and not a repair. Dualit should get a grip of this as it is such a dangerous isuue. On another issue, the toaster won't accept a full slice of Hovis white snd we have to turn the bread upside down to finish it off. I wrote to Dualit to ask for their comments and got a very dismissive reply saying it was the bread makers fault as they have made their slices bigger!! I have written to Hovis to see if this is true as it sounds so unlikely.

Never worked properly from new, first the timer stuck and burnt the toast. When I had freed that up I discovered that it would burn the toast one side and underdo it the other in three out the four slots! Tried to contact the company but received no joy or reply. Amex supplied me with the toaster through their reward scheme otherwise I would have been appalled to have paid £179 for a toaster that doesn't toast.

For people who live with many people like me, this toaster is a godsend. It has 4 slots, so I don't need to keep waiting for it to be my turn. The toast is even, and it does toast more quickly than others. The slots are pretty wide and I can even place large slices inside.

I regret having bought a Dualit.

Had this toaster five years and on its third mechanical timer. This time it nearly set fire to the kitchen. There is no safety theromstat and when the timer jams or spring becomes weak and the dial gets a build up of kitchen muck between this and the case you can be in big trouble. The get out clause for Dualit is that it is "an attended appliance" ........life's to short to watch a toaster. Expensive and not well made.

When our last toaster packed in I thought I'd go to town and spend a few quid. I'd always liked the Dualit after seeing it in the background of every great house design show. The toaster itself is unlike most. There's no "pop-up" and no simple setting on a dial. The "pop-up" functionality is replaced with a lever and the dial is a timer. Now, I love the simplicity of it, but not everyone does. 50% of the house are with me, and 50% are with my wife (who hates it). I can understand why. She certainly hasn't got the knack with it and burns the toast very regularly. If you can get over the fact that you does need to work a little harder for your toast then the Dualit is great. The toast it makes it amazing. Crispy, soft and if you want to be an "Englishman in New York" you can have you're toast done on one side, by switching to 2 pieces instead of 4 and putting the 1 side piece in the middle slot. All in all I love it and would never give it up, unfortunately my wife doesn't so I think we may end up with 2 toasters!

Hi I read up on how great these toasters are and really wanted one. Well yes it looks great, feels well made & it toasts bread. I read the horror stories of how dangerous these toasters are but hoped that mine would be ok. Anyway this morning I stuck on some toast and got interrupted by a phone call so left the kitchen. During the call the kids came screaming out into the hall saying there was a fire, I ran into the kitchen which was black with smoke and pulled the toaster plug out, grabbed the toast & threw it in the sink, slightly burning my hands in the process. The house is now full of smoke, much worse by far than I have EVER seen from burnt toast. I consider myself lucky that there wasn't a major fire. These toasters are dangerous. Now I have a £200 deep breath I'll say that again £200 toaster that is not safe to use. Looks like I'm off down to ASDA to buy a replacement for £10 at least that'll be safe.

This could be a great little toaster (mines the 4 slice version)but the switch has a design fault. The mechanical part of it is like a clock.Take the switch out and wind it up, you will be able to stop it by placing your finger on the ends of the wheels that turn. The ends of the spindles just poke through the casing a tiny amount, you will also see the flywheel stop turning when you do this.I think these wheels should run in a jewel like a watch instead of the metal casing which will wear or hold dirt.I have put a tiny amount of cycle oil on these spindle ends and it seems to have made it better-but for how long? Maybe when the oil dries out it will be back to sticking again. Still maybe worth a try.Just thought I'd put my 5 pence worth in.

DO NOT BUY THIS TOASTER! The timer sticks and is very dangerous, the toast ends up cremated and so will you if you don't notice it's stuck! We contacted Dualit and were told that the toaster wasn't 'broken' and that we should buy a new timer from them. Their customer services is as useful as a chocolate teapot or a Dualit toaster, take your pick, neither of them do the job!

This Dualit 4 slice toaster is the best I have had after trying several and different aspects bugging me of each one. It's sturdy, cooks evenly, has a reassuring click when toast is cooked. It comes with a sandwich clamp which enables you to put a sandwich in and toast it, even melting cheese. You can select to use one, two or four slices so it is also energy efficient. Was pleased too to see the variety of colours it came in. It looks very stylish which is handy when it is on the side all the time and it is easy to clean. The crumb tray helps to keep work surfaces clean and the lever helps to check the toast during cooking without stopping the cooking process. A real star buy and investment!