Hi, @Brenda Elliott, congrats again on making your first post here! I hope you enjoy the site, and that someone comes to your rescue here fast! 
Unfortunately, I don't have a great answer for you either. I've been spoiled for many years, because I mix my dough in a large commercial-grade Hobart that I bought with my bakery when I bought it in 1997 or so. It must have been 30 years old at that time, and it's still going strong, with never a breakdown and rarely any routine maintenance. I now work with it in my home (though big - 20 quarts - it is still a tabletop mixer), and I love it. I can mix multiple batches of dough in it at a time. The only issue is the lever is really hard to push up into place, because I've been very remiss in getting it oiled. I really need to do that, considering it's been at least 10 years since that happened! 
This picture is the modern-day equivalent of what I have. Mine definitely has more patina! The price obviously prevents this one from being practical for occasional home use . . . even the Hobart 5-quart (used in many culinary schools because of its durability) is more than twice as expensive as the KitchenAid-equivalent. But my bet is it would last a lifetime.
Best of luck! I'm interested to hear what others have to say on the topic.