Your old one is probably a beauty. Why a new one? Does he need more volume?
Whatever you decide, don't get rid of your old one. You might just want some new blades for it. Keep it as a back-up anyway.
Might be helpful posting what it will be used for. Sometimes a Blendtec/Vitamix will do what you want. With a good vintage food processor and a stand mixer and a powerful blender, you have three good appliances to do all you need.
Can you get him into a BB&Beyond? Or a similar store that has all that stuff? See what he drools over, lol. The reviews are about the same for the top three. I like Cuisinart, (mine is vintage), but others are happy with other brands. Just get one locally with a decent return policy?
The link below should answer your questions about the manufacturing flubs.

Here is a link that might be useful: processor discussion

My son lives an hour away. He cannot borrow my perfectly good food processor, which I plan to keep. His is broken and needs to be replaced. He loves to cook everything. He is a real foodie, so it will get a lot of use.

The Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus DLC-2011CHB garners (this is an 11-cup model) 1st place in a lot of reviews from places not selling it! :-) I've read the smaller (4 cup) Cuisinarts don't perform as well. One thing to check on any food processor is how close the blade comes to the cup --- the bigger the gap the worse job it does.

I chose Braun back in the days of cooking for a crowd. Has dough hook, etc. Now, doing smaller quantities, I've switched to a sturdy mandoline and the Cuisinart immersion blender which comes with a small cup attachment with a steel blade for chopping small quantities.

The Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus DLC-2011CHB garners (this is an 11-cup model) 1st place in a lot of reviews from places not selling it! :-) I've read the smaller (4 cup) Cuisinarts don't perform as well. One thing to check on any food processor is how close the blade comes to the cup --- the bigger the gap the worse job it does.

I chose Braun back in the days of cooking for a crowd. Has dough hook, etc. Now, doing smaller quantities, I've switched to a sturdy mandoline and the Cuisinart immersion blender which comes with a small cup attachment with a steel blade for chopping small quantities.

Gardenweb was really acting up earlier. And how. It kept giving me an unable to post message. It lied!

Sorry sheila, not sure why i visualized a pre-teen off on a side counter area, learning and loving cooking, lol. Maybe the commercials for the 'kids cooking' show is on the brain.
In another thread some have put away, or given away, their older models for an up-grade and find out the older ones were much better. Regret the switch.

I put away my vintage 4 cup for years and now have it out again. It is way too small but useful.

The Cuisinart gets good reviews on Amazon. I prefer the elder style and it gets good reviews as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: cuisinart

I know that there are huge fans of Cuisinarts here, and I have one from, er, maybe 1981. However, I have had to replace too many parts over the years, and the Lexan and plastic bits became very brittle. I found the locking mechanism increasingly difficult to engage over time. I have been using a Magimix 4200XL for several years and really like it a lot. I find it operates more smoothly than the Cuisinart. The Magimix takes a bit of reorienting because the bowl handle is in front when operating, I made sweet potatoes to absolutely rave reviews using the mash and puree attachment over Thanksgiving, which is our big annual holiday here. Had the larger version with the chrome base been available years ago, I probably would have gone for it. The XL have the wide feed tube, which is a necessity to me.
I still use the little Cuisinart for chopping spice mixtures sometimes. It's much cheesier than the big machines.The kids use it more than I when they are here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Some reviews available here.

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Wed, Dec 4, 13 at 9:31

I have a 12 y/o KA and love it, but I agree over time the lexan does get brittle. The handle of my work bowl is cracked, but I have not been able to find a replacement. I had to replace the cover earlier due to it cracking when I dropped it.

One thing to keep in mind is what the primary uses will be -- that may impact how wide the tube should be, or what extra blades to purchase. I purchased an assortment of blades and find them to be extremely useful.

Mine has been plenty powerful for chopping, slicing etc., but I often wish a larger food tube had been available when I purchased mine. I don't use mine for bread making so have never testing the performance of dough kneading. I am reluctant to replace the machine as no doubt my current extra blades will not fit the newer models.

I would go for the Cuisinart, specifically for the Prep 11 plus, because it has the perfect bowl size. Also, the Cuisinart has great features, such as the pulse and the dough. The pulse function allows you to process the food with the perfect consistency, bu controlling it instead of pureeing it!
The dough function is to be used when making heavy doughs, and it protects the motor from overheating.

I am really into buying one of these :) Check here how I just publicly asked my husband for one :) Maybe I am lucky enough to get it for Valentine's day :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus - Why I really want this food processor!