We have a GE microwave and haven't had any trouble with it at all. Of course, I only use the microwave to heat up coffee, melt butter and cook winter squash. Kind of an expensive gadget if you ask me. I once attended some kind of meeting at Cornell University where I was told that microwaved foods lose a good deal of their nutrients. That was enough for me...besides, I enjoy cooking on the stove or in the oven, what's the rush, anyway?

Also, before the GE, we had a Kenmore microwave bought for my grandmother...nothing fancy, just a dial as that is all she could understand how to use. She passed away and we used that microwave for another 10 years or more. I finally threw it out because it had yellowed and was forever looking dirty which just irritated me. HMPH. Buh bye microwave!

About the JC Penney microwave....my stepfather got one of those for my Mom in the late 1970s...a monster of a microwave that lasted 3 times longer than their marriage....thank God!

Michelle