Don't settle for this little microwave

Usually when I buy an inexpensive appliances I don’t expect too much out of them. I have learned the hard way, that you get what you pay for. About 2 years ago after moving into my new home and looking at the appliances that came with the house I decided that I was going to have to upgrade everything. The microwave that was left for us must have been one of the original tiny microwaves that they made exclusively for dorms. I quickly became frustrated after not being able to fit a small 8" plate inside it let alone the large 11" plate. Since I was planning on upgrading my kitchen in the future, I decided to buy an inexpensive interim microwave. Off to Home Depot I went. I looked at their microwaves that they had boxed up and had ready to take with you. On a recommendation of the sales associate I chose the Sharp R-305. It did not hurt that it was on sale for $65.00. My only requirement was that the microwave could fit an 11" plate inside of it. This microwave was definitely roomy enough for that.

I got it home and set it out on our counter. The space that we had set the microwave on was about a 24" long by 26" wide. The microwave dimensions are 17"x20"x12.5" and it set perfectly in this space with room to spare. I could even fit my can opener next to it. The door opens on the left side and comes out about 17". According to the instructions the microwave comes with:

- 6 cook options
- 6 reheat options
- 4 defrost options
- Clock
- Timer
- Light inside the microwave
- Carousel that rotates your food for you
- 1 year warranty

Here is what I like about the microwave:

-Cleanup is pretty simple as the turntable plate and rollers come out and you can stick the glass plate in the dishwasher.
-It heats up your food pretty consistently (probably due to the turntable mechanism). For example, if you are heating up a bowl of soup and the soup label tells you to heat the soup for 3:00 minutes, it is steaming hot after 3:00 minutes.

Here is what I dislike about the microwave:

-After owning the microwave for 2 years now, it is starting to show its inexpensiveness. I typically use my microwave to heat up soup or leftovers so very rarely use the microwave to defrost something. When I did finally try the defrost feature, I was disappointed, but not shocked that it cooked my food instead of defrosting it.
-The "0" button no longer works and occasionally the 1 button does not work. I am sure it is due to always setting the time for 1:00 or 2:00 and so on.
-The turntable has almost stopped turning all together. Some days it will turn and other days it will not.
-I am not sure who programmed the popcorn feature (if it was us or the manufacturer) but it burns the popcorn every time. I am pretty sure that it was the manufacturer though.
-The microwave did not start breaking until the 2 year mark, so the warranty is worthless.