Unfortunately, your friends are right. If you want a long-lasting vacuum you need to invest in something like Riccar, Sebo, Miele or Aerus. These are brands that are reliable and easily serviced by a local vac shop.

Your Bissells, Hoovers, Sharks, Dysons, etc. are all considered disposable machines.

I just service mine at the local vacuum store. I have a Riccar that has been repaired once in 15 years. Cheaper to repair than buy new. Doing a periodic maintenance is a good idea.

I have a meile canister that is about 14 years old - it has been repaired a few times but it is still working.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 20 year old Kirby that’s a work horse. I’ve only had to service it once.

I also got a cordless Dyson that’s junk. Serviced 3x in 3 years. New battery and new engine shipped because under warranty. Now it annoys my so much it sits unused. I can’t bring myself to throw out a $300 vacuum I’ve probably used 30-40 times.

I used to be a die hard Dyson fan from the time I bought my first vacuum in 2003 until the last few years. The past few models of their cordless vacuums barely last a few years now before the brittle pieces just begin falling apart. Customer service used to be great but not any more. I actually just replaced by fairly new V15 with a Shark Power Detect cordless that empties itself. Sure, it might die too in a few years but at least it didn't cost me $600+. For my "real" vacuum I have a central vac system in my house from the 1990's that still works flawlessly. It picks up a crazy amount of dust, dirt, and dog hair. I've never had an issue with it.

I replaced a 15 year old Hoover Windtunnel with a Shark. The Hoover went to my son who is still using it. The Shark is a few years old and i am still happy with it.

I have a 20 year old Kirby that’s a work horse. I’ve only had to service it once.

I also got a cordless Dyson that’s junk. Serviced 3x in 3 years. New battery and new engine shipped because under warranty. Now it annoys my so much it sits unused. I can’t bring myself to throw out a $300 vacuum I’ve probably used 30-40 times.

Yeah nothing made to last sadly

My next vacuum will be a canister style & made in Germany or US

How long does the typical vacuum last these days? I replaced a 20 year old Kenmore canister a few years ago with a Shark upright and only got about three years out of it before it literally began falling apart. For context, we're a family of four and one dog and 3,000 sq. ft. My girlfriends said three to four years is about right for a typical big box store brand vacuum cleaner. Do I really need to invest in a fancy Miele or Sebo to get more than three years out of a regular vacuum?