Blenders

I thought I should have blender to make veggie smoothies. I found a Blendtec blender at Costco online for $400--I bought it after reading the reviews at Amazon and on the Costco site.  After another $34 in taxes, I deemed it an extravagant purchase.  I used it a few times.  It made a huge noise.  I didn't like it much, but figured that I'd keep it for awhile.  And not long after my purchase, I was getting emails from Costco selling the same blender for $320 leading to more buyer's remorse.  

On Xmas, we dropped in some cooked potatoes.  It blended them mostly to a smooth butter, then it stopped.  The LCD display said "OVERLOAD" and smoke came out from underneath.  It wasn't dead, because the motor still ran, but it didn't want to work on the potatoes anymore.  Still, I took the thing back for a full refund.  
Two days later, we went to a Portland Costco and bought a Vitamix for $375, no tax.  I'll likely make mashed potatoes the usual way with a hand masher, so I doubt I'll try mashed potatoes in this new blender.  The base is much heavier than the B-tec's base. I like the relative quiet of the V-mix and it still chops everything down to cells & organelles.  

For me, the Vitamix is nicer than the Blandtac.  Maybe Phoebe's Ninja can make mashed potatoes because it has blades at three levels.