I owned one of these for two years and loved it.  It was noisy, yes, but well worth it to save myself the daily scooping (and to provide a cleaner environment for my two cats).  Two years to the day after I purchased my first Littermaid the motor died.  I re-ordered immediately.  My second Littermaid was defective; the motor stopped working for no reason after only a few days of use.  I got a replacement from Amazon, but its motor died after a few weeks.  Amazon won't send any more replacements, so I either have to order from elsewhere or try a different box.  Bummer!