My Oster toaster bit the dust, only working some of the time and sometimes on one side sometimes on another. I was going to replace it with an identical one, but it's no longer made, but some of the reviewers had their more recent models lasting 6 months. And well I've had it with the throwaway economy. So I held my nose and bought this toaster after watching the you tube videos on how to replace the elements and the switch and watching way too many videos of people making toast with all the various toasters. I had considered a toaster oven but I don't have counter space with the 4" clearance all around you need to not light the cabinets, and wall on fire. Next I checked the price of replacement parts, as they had better be less than a new toaster, and currently they are. Replacement of the various bits looks well within my skills so no problem there.On the toast, that is why we buy these things. Yes it makes toast. Yes it will defrost the bread first. Yes there are no thermo-couple devices in it to determine whether your toast is done to perfection. You have to experiment a bit, starting of course with the basic recommended setting. As the toaster does heat up when making multiple slices, ie more than a single batch, you'll probably want to reduce the time a tad.Is the toast perfectly brown along all the face, no, it's slightly more done at the top, well heat rises. Did the toast get defrosted, yep, no issues there. Did a bagel work, yep, same for an "english muffin", on the "bagel" setting which is where the center heats up more than the outer edges. When it's done, the timer does a "click" and that's it, no bell, so you have to be paying attention. It does not automatically lift out, you have to push the level down, not an issue for me as my wrists still work fine.I did buy a sandwich press so that I can put smaller pieces of toast in it without them being caught by the lifter bar and the interior wires. First time I tried it, they didn't get stuck but I had to use tongs to get them out. Didn't burn them, and they were pretty evenly toasted as they were all at the same level.Is this thing worth the price? I have no idea, but if the current level of Oster toasters last only a year, and the reports are that this one should last at least two to three before elements are replaced (maybe longer some folks seem to get a lot of use out of theirs) the price is a break even. And I can feel good about not adding to the trash heap in the desert.Does it look cool? yeah. Does it take up more space than my old Oster? Just a bit. Is it hard to operate? no. Is it plastic? or have a plastic outer case? no.There is one mechanical lever for lifting your toast out, one dial to set it for the number of slices (left to right, when facing the toaster), or bagel. And one mechanical timer switch with a snow flake on it for defrost, a couple of random numbers, (2, 3) and a dot which the manual says is the correct place to start when making toast. Can you add just "a tad more time" yes, but if you asked for too much you can either just let it run out on it's own or push the timer to the off position.if my opinion changes on this thing, I'll update this review. But so far it's the best choice for me.