I like Oreck. I owned (note past tense) a retail store that got vacuumed 2-3 times a day, 362 days a year, in the loving hands of EMPLOYEES (read, "I'm not even supposed to be here today"). In thirteen years of being tossed, yanked, kicked, and cussed, one machine finally quit ("It broke"), and needed a rebuild. I took it to the Oreck dealer, and a slightly newer model was on sale that day, so I bought it too. Both models have survived these many moons and still work fine today. Cords and brushes wear out, but not much else. I cannot tell you how much I paid for either of these machines, because it's been too long ago. I like Oreck very much.

i had a Dyson and stopped using it. I found it wasn't that good on my w2w carpet. My old Panasonic worked better. I replaced it with a Miele.

I also looked at the Sebo, which has a good reputation.

I have a Dyson Animal...It sucks up alot of pet hair that you did not even know was there, but it's heavy, bulky, and extremely loud. Too heavy for stairs, doesn't fit under lower furniture. Despite all the hype, the "cons" outweigh the "pros". Did I mention it cost over $450 for all the hype, too?

I've had a Hoover Windtunnel for about 11 yrs and absolutely love it, it is the higher priced Hoover, I paid $300. for it back than.

It sucks up everything, has very strong suction.
It is still going strong. I have dropped it down stairs a few times, and have broke the plastic compartment that holds the attachements, but it has never had any problems. I have had to tape the cord in a few places where it has been under the beater bar and wore thru the outer cover.

I hope they still make them as good as this one.

And I hope that it never brakes down.

Yeah, think I need to stay with a cannister for some of
those very reasons: weight, stairs, low hanging
furniture.

I'll see if I can find a Hoover. Is the Miele realy
sturdy (as in, like the steel tubes on my Eureka)?

Or .. can I get someone to splice a Eureka hose end
onto a Miele hose so I can use my old attachments on
a new vac????

I LOVE my Sebo upright. I have tile, hardwood and area rugs. It's the best vacuum I have ever owned. I talked with several vacuum repair stores and they all said the same thing--Kenmore, Hoover, Eureka keeps them in business with repairs. Sebo is more expensive upfront but they all only had either 1 or none that came back needing repairs.

I have a Miele cannister and the plastic on the wand or whatever you call it broke and it cost me $99 for a new one. Also, the cord whipper snapper (good at techinal names, aren't I) broke and it cost about the same to replace. Think next time I'll look at a Sebo or Oreck!

We have had a Miele for the past 6 years and have been very pleased with its performance. The model we chose, which has been discontinued, comes with a carpet cleaner attachment with a brush that spins. But unlike most of this type, the spin is powered by the suction, not a separate electric motor. Less complicated. That attachement is superb on wall to wall and oriental carpets. The separate attachment for hard floors also works very well. You can also get an attachment that is easily adjustable for doing both carpets and hard floors. We use that one when we're in a hurry and don't have time for the separate attachments. The other attachments, for dusting furniture, vacuuming upholstery, and getting in crevices are all thoughtfully designed and useful.

But the most important feature of the Miele is its HEPA filter. Without one, you're just blowing some of your dust back into the air. WHATEVER BRAND YOU DECIDE ON, MAKE SURE IT HAS A HEPA FILTER. I would never use one with a HEPA filter.

I have a Dyson and it is signficantly better than the Eureka's and top of the line Kenmore vaccums I have had in the past.

I vaccumed the rugs with the Eureka first and followed up with the Dyson. I was amazed at how much stuff the Eureka left that the Dyson picked up. Did the same exercise with the Kenmore and got the same results.

I've had my Miele Platinum for 11 years and it's performed flawlessly. The hose is in perfect shape as are all the other 'plastic parts'--the salesman who sold it to us told us that it's the same stuff they make football helmets out of, I forget the name of it. (ABS, perhaps?) It's a very, very well designed machine. After all these years, it looks just fine and it still sucks something fierce. We have the big power brush. I'd buy it again in a flash, it was a huge investment for us at the time and I have never regretted it for a second.
cj