I bought my Dyson in March of 2003 and it still sucks. Sucks the dustbunnies in from the adjoining room and everything. I've just cleaned the filter on the schedule Dyson recommends and replaced one hose - cost me $34 on ebay.
I keep reading on line of problems, but have had none with mine, nor have any of my Dyson enthuiast friends had problems. YMMV, I suppose.
Sorry yours was not a good experience. But hey, at least you didn't cough up the BIG bucks for a Kirby! ;-)
If I may offer a suggestion for a replacement vacuum if you aren't going to have your Dyson repaired...I spent way more time than should be necessary to figure out what vacuum to get. I needed something that would suck up the dog hair really well. I considered a Dyson and almost got one but came to my senses. I just could not spend that much on a vacuum. I ended up getting the Bissell Healthy Home. It has GREAT suction and costs only around $200. I think I got mine for $250 at Target and got a $50 Target gift card with purchase. I've had it for a year and haven't had any issues, save for a lego getting stuck in the hose. It works equally well on bare floors as it does carpet (my house is almost all bare floors).
The nice thing is that if this vacuum breaks in a few years, I won't feel so bad replacing it since it wasn't too expensive in the first place. If I had a $500 vacuum and it broke after 18 months, I'd probably end up chucking it through the window of the Dyson HQ!
If you don't understand the concept of warranties, you probably shouldn't be writing for WiseBread. Look, I'm sorry you bought a lemon (it happens to all of us), but it's not Dyson's fault. You had the opportunity to fix it when it was still under warranty, but you didn't. Lesson learned, right?
We got a deal on our Dyson about 4 years ago by doubling our Discover points using only $250 to buy the $500 unit.
The first one didn't work long, maybe a couple of months. Dyson gladly exchanged it for a new one that worked. But then we started having more problems. Little plastic pieces were breaking. We could live without the cord winder however one part had to be replaced - and I found out the 5-year warranty pitch didn't apply to my machine.
Now the hose is shot and I can't get it off the wand to hand vacuum.
We also have a battery operated unit that just stopped working.
My mistake: not buying the units from Sam's or Costco where they give a LIFETIME WARRANTY on everything. We got these Dyson's cheap but they really ended up costing us a lot more!
I believe that "staycations" will be very popular this coming summer. With a little creativity, you can think of some great things to do for "staycation" and save money.
We bought the DC15 Animal Ball Dyson back in 2006 because we had a dog and a cat who shed like crazy, and light carpets. It's worked really, really well for us; no problems at all, and when it gets dusty inside the canister my husband brings it outside and blows it out with our leaf blower.
That being said, we moved into a house with no carpets about ten months ago, and now I only pull out the Dyson once every couple weeks to do our few area rugs. The thing doesn't work particularly well on bare floors, and unless I need the extension arm I keep it in the closet.
BUT I do use my $15 Swiffer vac that I bought at the grocery store every day. I have to keep it charged, and granted, the battery doesn't last more than ten minutes, and yes, I have to buy the replacement pads that I replace every few days, but it's fast, small, and lightweight enough that my not-quite-2-year-old will ask to use it.
I wouldn't specifically buy the Dyson again if I didn't have a house full of carpets, but it certainly works much, much better than the $250 Kenmore canister we first had. Now that thing was a waste of money.
In today's economic climate landlords are always looking for ways to get renters to stay. With prices in free fall in many areas including my own state of California, it's common for existing renters to be paying $100's more than currently advertised rates.
So why do landlords turn a blind eye to existing residents who they know and like and then turn around and offer discounts to new residents who they don't know? Simple...if they offer disounts to existing renters they run the risk of having a viral mess on their hands as the news travels throughout the community. This could potentially be devastating to their bottom line as every renter negotiated for lower rent.
What can you do about it? Also simple...ask anyway. Give your landlord all the reasons why they don't want to lose you, show them that you know what competing apartments are renting for and if you know what they are offering for the same unit and it's less rent then let them know. If that fails you can offer to move into another apartment for the advertised special. If you are willing to move, most landlords will feel compelled to offer you the current advertised rates. This of course is a win win since you get to stay in the complex you like, get a newer unit often with upgrades and a lower price.
Of course if you really want to stay put, promise to keep the whole affair to yourself and keep your promise. One peep and you run the risk of ruining it for your fellow renters. After all, if they do their homework, they may be able to negotiate a sweet deal with the landlord too.
I bought a DC07 and it lasted quite a few years, but then as I was cleaning to move out of an old apartment, the motor overheated after just 1 room. I let it rest and it started again, but didn't last long. I tossed it in the trash and felt no remorse, since my husband and I had 2 vacuums between us. The Dirt Devil won.
I have had financial difficulties several times due to a medical condition that my daughter eventually lost to. I became very sarcastic and antagonistic towards debt collectors. They have no right to be rude to anyone, nor do they have the right to threaten anybody. It came to a point where I filed a complaint against the collections company for harassment.
I have had to struggle after I lost my daughter since I was left with so many debts (my wife passed away a year before due to a car accident). In trying to get back on my feet, I (ironically) landed a job as a debt collector. I did make sure though that I would collect within the boundaries of the law.
Surprisingly, it's true that many people would blatantly lie about their ability to pay. It's also true that many collectors become rude.
Debtors feel harassed by the number of calls and are pushed into screaming at collectors and getting very stressed. They can sue if they feel that their rights are violated. On the other hand, collectors have a job to do and goals to mee (if they want to keep their jobs). Unfortunately,they cannot sue a consumer if they are at the receiving end of profanity and threats.
My message to debtors: If you owe it but do not have the ability to do so right away, be honest and try to work with them. The only reason collectors become rude is because many a time they are shouted at and hung up on. Imagine how that must feel.
My message to collectors: people will work with you if you are nice enough and genuinely try to help them. you're not going to get anything if you are rude or abrasive.
I'm a new mommy of two small children and a recovering neat freak. I have honestly been a little depressed over how I'm unable to clean to my standard while chasing around two little (wonderful) mess machines. Enter a shiny, new Dyson D-14 Full Kit (ret.$299/fs @Macy's) and my troubles are over. This thing is incredible in reach, ease of use and performance. It's also lovely to behold. There are a million things I love about my Dyson. Just sorry you've had a bad experience.
Have you been keeping up with maintenance? It requires an awful lot to function well, but it's a relatively quick task. Absolutely essential, though. Good luck.
thought I didn't have a TV because I couldn't afford one. It never occurred to him I just didn't want one and it never occurred to me that he might think I was too poor to get one, I have an otherwise well decorated apartment. 10 years ago I found myself with 2 tvs and a tv/vcr combo and 3 vcr's. I looked at this pile of crap and started calling folks to haul it off. They thought I was nuts, I didn't ask for money, I was disgusted with what it was doing to my life, sucking all my time, demanding my complete attention. I really resented it. I've lived with folks who had tv's and I can't stand more than about 30 minutes, I'm a playstation junky though, played Tomb Raider in 11 days, another reason to get rid of it. Otherwise I indulge in a short attention span with lots more playtime outside, I listen to lots of radio, I get desperate housewives on the net in a whole lot shorter time it takes to watch on the tube, I make my own movies with my puter, and I do alot more with my hands than I ever did with a tv. My new boyfriend likes that part best.
I researched my vacuum on consumer report. Took the top 2 in each category, and looked up the reviews on Amazon.com. From there I chose a bagged version for 129 bucks that was number 2 on the CR list. Loved it, worked great and would still have it if the mover didn't "lose" it.
I always worry that some of these "specialty" manufacturers have horrible CS. I guarantee its 100% outsourced and outsourced to the cheapest provider.
What I am curious is how Kirby vacuums hold up given that they are owned by Berkshire Hathaway, i.e. Warren Buffet.
Wow! Thank you for this post. Your post are always interesting and to the point. I think there should be more products review instead of cheaper ways to get drunk with wine spritzers on cinco de mayo and making recycled underwear out of used napkins (joke) on this site.
Thank you also for the little bit of anger toward the big corporations (I felt it and shared it, too) -- for the most part they are truly evil entities, in my opinion.
I thought they were nice vacuums, but I haven't gotten one because I can't afford it, and I think that after surpassing a certain amount it becomes obscene to spend money on an item.
Here in Pittsburgh, houses haven't really taken a huge hit and the rental market seems to be doing ok, though prices seem to be generally down.
We're paying $770/mo for a 2-bedroom apartment. They were raising it by $20. I asked for a deal. They said no.
So we decided to look at our options. We're now moving across town (we're thinking about buying there maybe, so it'll be worth it to see if we like the area and commute).
Our new rent will be $745. It's also a 2-br but it's about 100 square feet bigger, has 2 full baths to our 1.5 baths now, and has a W/D in the unit.
If our current complex cut us a deal, they wouldn't miss out on a few hundred bucks.
My neighbor moved out in April and it's had some showings but it's still vacant.
I tried this in San Jose, CA and they wouldn't budge. Yet the new people coming in got the lower rent. With prices down significantly, the breakeven for a move, even a luxury one where you do little of the work yourself is at most 6 months.
I'd give it a go. Here's my story: I recently bought a house in the bay area and watched with interest as my landlord was forced to rent my old place for almost 15% LESS than I was paying. I chuckled each time I saw a price drop on craigslist. In the end, the rent had to be competitive relative to other similar places on craigs.
My next door neighbor negotiated a $400 price reduction. (Though, he told me it wasn't easy to do. Lots o' haggling.)
How did you not hear all of the negatives about Dyson before? My friend (who owns a cleaning business) told me to avoid them, my mom talked to a vacuum repair guy who said the same thing, Consumer Reports didn't have them at the top of the list. We got a Kenmore a few years ago and are thrilled with it. We've had a couple of Hoovers, and liked them. Just avoid the self-propelled models - the belts wear out really fast.
Wow! Glad we didn't buy a Dyson! My husband and I lusted after one for years, but just recently gave away our old upright vacuum cleaner because we got rid of our wall-to-wall carpeting entirely a few months ago and had no need for a vacuum besides the small hand-held one we have. Guess we won't be getting a Dyson now!
Friends or family can use the vehicle if it is an automatic transmission. Perhaps not if it is a stick.
i consider this a benefit...others would likely damage my car, or spill something in it, or hop a curb in it, or any one of a number of other things that i would NEVER do. the less people who can drive my car, the happier i am.
It's funny. I'm a researcher, like many of the folks commenting here. So much so that unless we really, really need something, we hardly ever get around to making big purchases. It's too much work.
I did buy a Roomba a couple years ago after reading tons of reviews. Some of them were bad but enough were good and I really wanted it. It worked pretty well for about a year, although I got tired of emptying the tiny bagless cannister. But then the battery crapped out. At first it needed to be "reset" a lot, until finally even resetting it didn't get it back to working normally. And by that time I was sick of struggling with it, sick of emptying that little cannister, and sick of the noise.
As valuable as online reviews can be, they frustrating part is that many people review products when they first get them, and of course many problems crop up after a year or so. And when people DO write about something they've had a few years, they're probably not writing about the same model you're looking at in the stores.
I've had my Dyson for over 6 years and with three cats and a lot of carpeting, I will never use another vacuum again. It was worth every cent of the price I paid for my fantastic vacuum.
The only maintenance I've done is to cut the hair off the roller brush bar (I have long hair) periodically and clean the lifetime HEPA filter.
That's it. It's worked PERFECTLY since the first time I used it over 6 years ago.
I'm of the opinion that you got a defective one, so don't paint every Dyson with the same brush of condemnation that you've used on your own.
I bought my Dyson in March of 2003 and it still sucks. Sucks the dustbunnies in from the adjoining room and everything. I've just cleaned the filter on the schedule Dyson recommends and replaced one hose - cost me $34 on ebay.
I keep reading on line of problems, but have had none with mine, nor have any of my Dyson enthuiast friends had problems. YMMV, I suppose.
Sorry yours was not a good experience. But hey, at least you didn't cough up the BIG bucks for a Kirby! ;-)
If I may offer a suggestion for a replacement vacuum if you aren't going to have your Dyson repaired...I spent way more time than should be necessary to figure out what vacuum to get. I needed something that would suck up the dog hair really well. I considered a Dyson and almost got one but came to my senses. I just could not spend that much on a vacuum. I ended up getting the Bissell Healthy Home. It has GREAT suction and costs only around $200. I think I got mine for $250 at Target and got a $50 Target gift card with purchase. I've had it for a year and haven't had any issues, save for a lego getting stuck in the hose. It works equally well on bare floors as it does carpet (my house is almost all bare floors).
The nice thing is that if this vacuum breaks in a few years, I won't feel so bad replacing it since it wasn't too expensive in the first place. If I had a $500 vacuum and it broke after 18 months, I'd probably end up chucking it through the window of the Dyson HQ!
If you don't understand the concept of warranties, you probably shouldn't be writing for WiseBread. Look, I'm sorry you bought a lemon (it happens to all of us), but it's not Dyson's fault. You had the opportunity to fix it when it was still under warranty, but you didn't. Lesson learned, right?
$500 for a vacuum cleaner? I didn't pay much more than that for my last car.
We got a deal on our Dyson about 4 years ago by doubling our Discover points using only $250 to buy the $500 unit.
The first one didn't work long, maybe a couple of months. Dyson gladly exchanged it for a new one that worked. But then we started having more problems. Little plastic pieces were breaking. We could live without the cord winder however one part had to be replaced - and I found out the 5-year warranty pitch didn't apply to my machine.
Now the hose is shot and I can't get it off the wand to hand vacuum.
We also have a battery operated unit that just stopped working.
My mistake: not buying the units from Sam's or Costco where they give a LIFETIME WARRANTY on everything. We got these Dyson's cheap but they really ended up costing us a lot more!
I believe that "staycations" will be very popular this coming summer. With a little creativity, you can think of some great things to do for "staycation" and save money.
Thank you so much for this post!!! I was thinking about splurging on the famous "amazing dyson" but now I see I should definitely save my money...
Wow. You must be from Sony to have a mentality re: warranties like that.
We bought the DC15 Animal Ball Dyson back in 2006 because we had a dog and a cat who shed like crazy, and light carpets. It's worked really, really well for us; no problems at all, and when it gets dusty inside the canister my husband brings it outside and blows it out with our leaf blower.
That being said, we moved into a house with no carpets about ten months ago, and now I only pull out the Dyson once every couple weeks to do our few area rugs. The thing doesn't work particularly well on bare floors, and unless I need the extension arm I keep it in the closet.
BUT I do use my $15 Swiffer vac that I bought at the grocery store every day. I have to keep it charged, and granted, the battery doesn't last more than ten minutes, and yes, I have to buy the replacement pads that I replace every few days, but it's fast, small, and lightweight enough that my not-quite-2-year-old will ask to use it.
I wouldn't specifically buy the Dyson again if I didn't have a house full of carpets, but it certainly works much, much better than the $250 Kenmore canister we first had. Now that thing was a waste of money.
In today's economic climate landlords are always looking for ways to get renters to stay. With prices in free fall in many areas including my own state of California, it's common for existing renters to be paying $100's more than currently advertised rates.
So why do landlords turn a blind eye to existing residents who they know and like and then turn around and offer discounts to new residents who they don't know? Simple...if they offer disounts to existing renters they run the risk of having a viral mess on their hands as the news travels throughout the community. This could potentially be devastating to their bottom line as every renter negotiated for lower rent.
What can you do about it? Also simple...ask anyway. Give your landlord all the reasons why they don't want to lose you, show them that you know what competing apartments are renting for and if you know what they are offering for the same unit and it's less rent then let them know. If that fails you can offer to move into another apartment for the advertised special. If you are willing to move, most landlords will feel compelled to offer you the current advertised rates. This of course is a win win since you get to stay in the complex you like, get a newer unit often with upgrades and a lower price.
Of course if you really want to stay put, promise to keep the whole affair to yourself and keep your promise. One peep and you run the risk of ruining it for your fellow renters. After all, if they do their homework, they may be able to negotiate a sweet deal with the landlord too.
Good luck and please let me know how it goes.
Apartment Sage
I bought a DC07 and it lasted quite a few years, but then as I was cleaning to move out of an old apartment, the motor overheated after just 1 room. I let it rest and it started again, but didn't last long. I tossed it in the trash and felt no remorse, since my husband and I had 2 vacuums between us. The Dirt Devil won.
I've been on both sides of the fence.
I have had financial difficulties several times due to a medical condition that my daughter eventually lost to. I became very sarcastic and antagonistic towards debt collectors. They have no right to be rude to anyone, nor do they have the right to threaten anybody. It came to a point where I filed a complaint against the collections company for harassment.
I have had to struggle after I lost my daughter since I was left with so many debts (my wife passed away a year before due to a car accident). In trying to get back on my feet, I (ironically) landed a job as a debt collector. I did make sure though that I would collect within the boundaries of the law.
Surprisingly, it's true that many people would blatantly lie about their ability to pay. It's also true that many collectors become rude.
Debtors feel harassed by the number of calls and are pushed into screaming at collectors and getting very stressed. They can sue if they feel that their rights are violated. On the other hand, collectors have a job to do and goals to mee (if they want to keep their jobs). Unfortunately,they cannot sue a consumer if they are at the receiving end of profanity and threats.
My message to debtors: If you owe it but do not have the ability to do so right away, be honest and try to work with them. The only reason collectors become rude is because many a time they are shouted at and hung up on. Imagine how that must feel.
My message to collectors: people will work with you if you are nice enough and genuinely try to help them. you're not going to get anything if you are rude or abrasive.
I'm a new mommy of two small children and a recovering neat freak. I have honestly been a little depressed over how I'm unable to clean to my standard while chasing around two little (wonderful) mess machines. Enter a shiny, new Dyson D-14 Full Kit (ret.$299/fs @Macy's) and my troubles are over. This thing is incredible in reach, ease of use and performance. It's also lovely to behold. There are a million things I love about my Dyson. Just sorry you've had a bad experience.
Have you been keeping up with maintenance? It requires an awful lot to function well, but it's a relatively quick task. Absolutely essential, though. Good luck.
thought I didn't have a TV because I couldn't afford one. It never occurred to him I just didn't want one and it never occurred to me that he might think I was too poor to get one, I have an otherwise well decorated apartment. 10 years ago I found myself with 2 tvs and a tv/vcr combo and 3 vcr's. I looked at this pile of crap and started calling folks to haul it off. They thought I was nuts, I didn't ask for money, I was disgusted with what it was doing to my life, sucking all my time, demanding my complete attention. I really resented it. I've lived with folks who had tv's and I can't stand more than about 30 minutes, I'm a playstation junky though, played Tomb Raider in 11 days, another reason to get rid of it. Otherwise I indulge in a short attention span with lots more playtime outside, I listen to lots of radio, I get desperate housewives on the net in a whole lot shorter time it takes to watch on the tube, I make my own movies with my puter, and I do alot more with my hands than I ever did with a tv. My new boyfriend likes that part best.
I researched my vacuum on consumer report. Took the top 2 in each category, and looked up the reviews on Amazon.com. From there I chose a bagged version for 129 bucks that was number 2 on the CR list. Loved it, worked great and would still have it if the mover didn't "lose" it.
I always worry that some of these "specialty" manufacturers have horrible CS. I guarantee its 100% outsourced and outsourced to the cheapest provider.
What I am curious is how Kirby vacuums hold up given that they are owned by Berkshire Hathaway, i.e. Warren Buffet.
Wow! Thank you for this post. Your post are always interesting and to the point. I think there should be more products review instead of cheaper ways to get drunk with wine spritzers on cinco de mayo and making recycled underwear out of used napkins (joke) on this site.
Thank you also for the little bit of anger toward the big corporations (I felt it and shared it, too) -- for the most part they are truly evil entities, in my opinion.
I thought they were nice vacuums, but I haven't gotten one because I can't afford it, and I think that after surpassing a certain amount it becomes obscene to spend money on an item.
I got one of this card today .I have never heard of this place.And I don't trust any body that will send you a card with you asking for it.
Here in Pittsburgh, houses haven't really taken a huge hit and the rental market seems to be doing ok, though prices seem to be generally down.
We're paying $770/mo for a 2-bedroom apartment. They were raising it by $20. I asked for a deal. They said no.
So we decided to look at our options. We're now moving across town (we're thinking about buying there maybe, so it'll be worth it to see if we like the area and commute).
Our new rent will be $745. It's also a 2-br but it's about 100 square feet bigger, has 2 full baths to our 1.5 baths now, and has a W/D in the unit.
If our current complex cut us a deal, they wouldn't miss out on a few hundred bucks.
My neighbor moved out in April and it's had some showings but it's still vacant.
They shoulda made a deal with me.
I tried this in San Jose, CA and they wouldn't budge. Yet the new people coming in got the lower rent. With prices down significantly, the breakeven for a move, even a luxury one where you do little of the work yourself is at most 6 months.
I'd give it a go. Here's my story: I recently bought a house in the bay area and watched with interest as my landlord was forced to rent my old place for almost 15% LESS than I was paying. I chuckled each time I saw a price drop on craigslist. In the end, the rent had to be competitive relative to other similar places on craigs.
My next door neighbor negotiated a $400 price reduction. (Though, he told me it wasn't easy to do. Lots o' haggling.)
How did you not hear all of the negatives about Dyson before? My friend (who owns a cleaning business) told me to avoid them, my mom talked to a vacuum repair guy who said the same thing, Consumer Reports didn't have them at the top of the list. We got a Kenmore a few years ago and are thrilled with it. We've had a couple of Hoovers, and liked them. Just avoid the self-propelled models - the belts wear out really fast.
Wow! Glad we didn't buy a Dyson! My husband and I lusted after one for years, but just recently gave away our old upright vacuum cleaner because we got rid of our wall-to-wall carpeting entirely a few months ago and had no need for a vacuum besides the small hand-held one we have. Guess we won't be getting a Dyson now!
Friends or family can use the vehicle if it is an automatic transmission. Perhaps not if it is a stick.
i consider this a benefit...others would likely damage my car, or spill something in it, or hop a curb in it, or any one of a number of other things that i would NEVER do. the less people who can drive my car, the happier i am.
It's funny. I'm a researcher, like many of the folks commenting here. So much so that unless we really, really need something, we hardly ever get around to making big purchases. It's too much work.
I did buy a Roomba a couple years ago after reading tons of reviews. Some of them were bad but enough were good and I really wanted it. It worked pretty well for about a year, although I got tired of emptying the tiny bagless cannister. But then the battery crapped out. At first it needed to be "reset" a lot, until finally even resetting it didn't get it back to working normally. And by that time I was sick of struggling with it, sick of emptying that little cannister, and sick of the noise.
As valuable as online reviews can be, they frustrating part is that many people review products when they first get them, and of course many problems crop up after a year or so. And when people DO write about something they've had a few years, they're probably not writing about the same model you're looking at in the stores.
I've had my Dyson for over 6 years and with three cats and a lot of carpeting, I will never use another vacuum again. It was worth every cent of the price I paid for my fantastic vacuum.
The only maintenance I've done is to cut the hair off the roller brush bar (I have long hair) periodically and clean the lifetime HEPA filter.
That's it. It's worked PERFECTLY since the first time I used it over 6 years ago.
I'm of the opinion that you got a defective one, so don't paint every Dyson with the same brush of condemnation that you've used on your own.