Sunbeam product

I own a Sunbeam 5891 breadmaker. Lately I have noticed a strange color marbling my bread. Soon thereafter the plug/mixer paddle at the bottom of the pan started coming loose, allowing the water and ingredients to flush out the bottom if you weren't holding it on during transfer into the breadmaker.

I checked out the problem and realized that the washer that seals the paddle to the plug was corroded and had broken apart. Without this seal, the funk from the bottom of the mixer unit was coming up into my bread and at times I couldnt get the pan in the machine without the plug coming loose. I looked all over for a replacement seal unit, but couldn't find one.

I emailed customer service for Sunbeam and told them what the issue was and asked where I could get a replacement part (or pan if they didn't make the parts for individual sale). I received an email back several days later telling me they were shipping me a whole new pan assembly. NO CHARGE!! They never asked for a serial number, purchase date, proof of purchase...nothing. I was so pleased with their customer service. Normally it's like pulling teeth to get something you are due, let alone something that I'm sure is past its warranty like my breadmaker!

Just thought I would pass this on as a positive note on customer service. If you're in the market for a bread machine, I'd say this is definitely one of the better ones (product and customer service).