First of all, I tend to have good luck with the Mr. Coffee brand. The only times I've ever had to replace them was when I managed to break the carafe (that happens if you accidentally bang it against a metal sink while washing it). Since replacing a carafe can cost close to a new basic coffee pot, I decided to just buy another one. I also wanted to upgrade from the basic coffee maker I was replacing (basically it made 4-12 cups of coffee and kept it warm--no timer). I read a LOT of reviews on different coffee makers (and some were too expensive for me to chance that they might fritz out after a month), and finally went back to Mr. Coffee. Not sponsored, not affiliated. It works great for me. I read some reviewers complain that the coffee is not hot enough for them, but unless you don't enjoy hot drinks unless they loosen some skin inside your mouth, then this should be fine. Likewise, if you find that the recommended brew is too weak or too strong, you can always adjust the amount of coffee you put in. I know that some brands of coffee uses more or less ground coffee than others (for some reason, the expensive organic grind-your-own beans tend to take twice as much as Folger's or some other regular brand). The coffee maker comes with a reusable coffee filter (and you can opt to use a paper filter with it for a smoother brew). There is also a scoop for measuring the recommended amounts of coffee, but here is where they start to lose some points. The markings on the plastic scoop actually rub off with ordinary handling! Hopefully by the time all the markings rub off, you will have memorized what line to fill the scoop for the amount of cups you want. Another BIG issue I had with the coffee maker is the difficulty in finding replacement filter pods for the extra water filter that goes inside the water reservoir. Even if you go directly to the manufacturer site, you find out they don't sell the filters there. Some people figured out how hard these things are to find, because there are a bunch of these filters being scalped on EBAY. I bought a 6 pack of official Mr. Coffee water filters through Amazon back in August for a regular price, but the same listing now says "unavailable" and the one seller that is offering the filter pods is calling them "collectible" and charging $75 for filters that are "like new". Well, what is it? New or "like new"? There are some pods that look similar that are made for Cuisinart coffee makers, but I have no idea if they would fit Mr. Coffee. Technically, even the instruction manual says that the coffee pot will work without this additional filter, but if you have lousy tap water, you will probably want and need this filter. The timer works fine--I don't usually use the timer, but the few times I did, it worked correctly. The warmer automatically shuts off after 4 hours. By that time, if you haven't finished your coffee, it would probably not be very good anyway. This is great for people who forget to turn off the coffee pot before leaving the house. Although...technically... you can't turn the coffee pot completely off if you want the clock and the timer to work. You need to have it plugged in all the time--so if that's a concern to you to leave electrical things plugged in 24/7, you might want to pass on this type of coffee maker. If there is a power failure, there will be no backup power source such as a battery. Overall, I really do like this coffee pot. I have to search high and low for replacement pods, but maybe by the time I run out of my current supply, people (probably the same ones that are hoarding toilet paper and sanitizing wipes) will stop buying them up and scalping them. You are supposed to replace these monthly--more or less depending on how much you use your pot and what your water is like. One other thing--make sure you keep and read the instruction manual. There are directions on monthly cleaning and answers to questions you might have about your coffee maker (other than where to really get the filters).
