I have decided I would like one for Christmas....beats the Christmas my husband gave me an Iron ;-)
Never had one and don't know anyone who uses one.
We get through a lot of bread in our house, but I would also like to have a go at making some speciality bread/fruit loaf.
A few questions....
* How long does it take to prepare the dough etc? I'm thinking of making it the night before and baking the bread so its fresh for the morning. Looking online some have a 'timer'??
*Is the bread as nice as I imagine it will be??
*Is it cheaper or more expensive than buying several loafs a week?
*Has anyone got any recommendations? What to look for or to avoid? Any hints/tipos?

Many thanks

It takes 3 - 4 hours to make a loaf - the good thing about it is that you put in all the ingredients and you know what has gone in - won't keep as long though.  I use one for my gluten free loaves - I can't bake ordinary bread without getting another pan and paddle.   Ingredients can be prepared the night before and set so you have fresh bread for breakfast!  Which recommends spending over £100 but there are best buys for £75 - Just looking if I can cut and paste some of the info here for you - Here are the running costs

White bread - standard program
Average cost: 5p
Average energy consumption: 0.339 kWh per loaf
Average cycle time: 3 hours 16 minutes

Wholemeal bread - standard program
Average cost: 5p
Average energy consumption: 0.341 kWh per loaf
Average cycle time: 3 hours 52 minutes

Seeded loaf - standard program
Average cost: 4p
Average energy consumption: 0.324 kWh per loaf
Average cycle time: around 3 hours

Delay timer - using the delay timer at the maximum setting, including standard program baking cycle
Average cost: 6p
Average energy consumption: 0.436 kWh per loaf
Cycle time: around 13 hours (including standard baking cycle)

All figures quoted are average prices, rounded up, based on average energy consumption and worked out using our standard unit of electricity cost (14.5p per kWh).

How big are breadmaker loaves?
Most machines can produce an 800g loaf, which is about the same weight as a loaf bought from a shop. Breadmaker loaves have a different texture and appearance from shop-bought bread, and can seem smaller; they're also not quite as long, and are more square in shape than what you may be use to.

Have pm'd you - I always like to read Which to learn about things to look for and avoid but I don't always go for their best buys - I like to read other people's views first. 

The size of the loaf is a little dependent on type, brown loaves don't rise quite as much as white or white mixtures. I would say its about nine to eleven inches long and about five or so inches deep,  but it's dependent on the tin size. You will get a smallish hole in the bottom of the loaf where the paddle sits and sometimes it can be a bit difficult to get the paddle out. I used to use mine all the time when the children were young and eating loads of bread. Now we don't eat so much and as the bread doesn't keep very long, I don't use it so often.

Really nice bread can be made so easily, so watch your waistline :-)

I was quoting Which for the size because I make gluten free and they are smaller loaves.  They do say that if you leave the loaf to rest for a few minutes then it is supposed to be easier for the paddle to come out - I don't find that with my loaves.  Yes you are right about the waist line :-)

We have a Panasonic - excellent. I got one years ago because I stayed with a friend and loved her bread. We never buy bread, always make our own. Apart from our standard wholemeal (I use 70% wholemeal and 30& white flour as it gives a lighter loaf), I make seedy bread, tomato and olive focaccia, ciabatta, dough for rolls/pizza, fruit loaf etc etc. I always keep the bread in a plastic bag in the fridge and can honestly say that the bread has never gone mouldy/stale (we often take about 3-4 days to eat a loaf as we don't usually eat sandwiches). The only down side is that the Panasonic makes quite a 'tall' loaf which is a bit high for the average toaster :) :) I am always saying that I would never buy bread after making my own (and my OH agrees :) ). Personally, Ceejay is right, I wouldn't buy a cheap machine. We had breadmakers years ago that were very unreliable - a good loaf one day and rubbish the next. The Panasonic is one of the best (if not the best) :). If you like wholemeal bread, be very careful which flour you use - we now only buy Canadian bread flour because some of the supermarket own brands make rubbish bread :) (Waitrose own brand is excellent)

The Panasonic takes 5 hours to make a 'large' wholemeal loaf. We do sometimes make a loaf overnight which works well - lovely to wake up to the smell ! I use Dove yeast - much better value than individual sachets.

Agree about the type of flour to use. I used to be able to get huge sacks of flour fresh from a mill when we lived in the Yorkshire dales, a lot cheaper in the long run then using poor quality supermarket flours. Will take a look at Waitrose's own make though. I use a Panasonic now and it is one of the best.

Waitrose flour is on offer atm for £1.12 a bag !! (White and wholemeal)

I've used a breadmaker for about 10 years now, and am really glad I bought it.  One thing I do is use the 'dough' progamme to mix the ingredients, and do the first proving (mine takes an hour and a half) then do the final processing (into rolls, plaits, flowerpots etc.,or even just using my old bread tins) by hand/oven.
I've never had a problem with the keeping qualities. 

I use a Panasonic and put it on timer overnight to wake up to the lovely smell next morning. I have no problem with keeping it because it goes so quickly as it is so much nicer than supermarket bread. I sometimes buy the Lidl white bread flour and find it pretty good for the price, especially if mixed half and half with wholemeal flour. I have used breadmakers for many years but the Panasonic is the best I have used.

Wow. Thank you so much everyone.
looks like im heading towards a panasonic then :-) will go off and do a little more research now ive been pointed in the right direction :-)
Forgive me for what is probably a really ridiculous question but do you simply put the dry ingrediants into the mixer, turn it on and wake up to freshly baked bread??? I cant believe its that simple??!! Are they easy to clean afterwards?
Thankfully im not a huge fan of bread, its more for my daughter and partner who seem to eat lots of it!! Although I will heed the warning about the waistline as the smell may be very tempting!

Is it sad that im quite excited at the prospect of a new kitchn gadget lol ;-)

Yep bung everything in, there is an order to the ingredients which is all explained in the very good recipe and cookbook that comes with the Panasonic. Switch it on and leave it til it's done. Easy to clean as the bread just slides out of the tin which has a non stick coating. Just need to give the tin and paddle a wash in warm soapy water and leave to dry. Clever bread maker!

I am so impressed and amazed that I can have delicious bread without any hassle of spending hours kneading or proving etc.
have already got my eye on some recipes in the bread book ive already got. The recipes show the breadmaker way as well as the 'by hand' way which I would normally follow. Caramelised onion yum yumm
thanks again peeps

Mine's a Kenwood, a model that's some years old now but I've never got a duff loaf out of it. You can also make cakes very easily too, and some even have a Jam setting, but not tried that on mine.

I would also look for a model where the paddle is attached to the machine as it's far easier than trying to get the paddle out of the loaf of bread once it is cooked. A friend had a cheaper model and the paddle had to be retrieved from the bottom of the loaf each time which tended to make a large hole in the bottom of the loaf whereas mine the paddle could be fixed so it didn't come off when the loaf was taken out of the tin which resulted in just a small slit in the bottom of the loaf. This was a few years ago so maybe they have changed the design nowadays but something to bear in mind when looking at different models.

And the only time I had a 'duff' loaf was when I forgot to put the paddle back in!!

I would say it's not quite as nice as handmade bread but I use mine all the time for convenience and the loaves are really good. Easy to use, easy to clean and I just keep my loaf in the bread in and it's good for a fair few days. I sometimes take the paddle out after the kneading is done so no chance of it coming off.

I have a kenwood machine but prefer the Panasonic recipes that came with my parents machine so I use those-this is just a personal preference though.