Jack, just our of curiosity, where are you located. BTW, I have a Kirby that is over 40 years old and I had the $99 lifetime repair insurance plan. I had a couple of minor repairs previously, but none worth the effort of doing the mail in and mail out routine to use that insurance. Recently, when I could find no vacuum repair place anywhere remotely close to me, I decided to try it. I was not only told that I had to cover the cost of mailing it in and out, but was also told that they may not have the parts needed to fix it and I would get it mailed back without repairs. No one wants to hear that and it is a way to just stop them from even trying. I bought another used motor unit to get it back up and running, but sadly, after using it less than a month, the fan blade broke. I love my Kirby, but am trying some other units that I had on hand but never used.
Why I say all of this is repair parts availability is a major 'decision maker' on whether you can fix a unit or not. So, parts suppliers are important. Or, gathering parts from broken machines and keeping an inventory of the 'good parts' for them. If you are serious about a business, a software package to keep track of parts and an organized retention area for those parts. Just a thought. I am a computer techie. I have parts and they are organized (smile). I did repairs as a full time business but have now retired at 77. I still do it in my local area for my neighbors.
