Has Miele changed hands?

[mieles5380leo]

I’ve noticed within the last couple of years since Miele changed their naming system from “S” models to complete, compact, classic “c” models that they have not been themselves so to speak. I hated the naming system then as I do now but they began making some machines in China and brought back old model styles such as the S4 and S5 as the compact c1 and complete c2. They have always been big about being made in Germany so that was quite surprising. The warranty’s on the Miele’s have dropped off significantly being 1, 2, or 3 year warranty’s. You can spend $749 on a classic c1 cat and dog and get a super short cord and a 1 year warranty. The prices have also increased significantly and they have canceled many models recently. The S8 (or complete C3) Kona, Alize, and Soft Carpet models have been removed from Miele’s website, the S6 (or compact C2) electro+ is also gone leaving no more of the S6 body styles in production. The final thing I’ve noticed is their movement into bagless vacuums and less than impressive ones at that. The new boost CX1 is really a low quality machine and sounds the motor sounds chinsy which is unlike Miele. If you look in the boost CX1 manual under the warranty section it doesn’t even list what the warranty period is for that series. I assume 3 years based on the fact the blizzards are 3 years but nothing specifically says which is another thing I’ve noticed about Miele is the warranty length is very hush hush and not in the specifications online but only buried in the pdf manual. Has anyone heard about them being bought by the Chinese or something? What is happening with Miele?

 

[wstonehockertv]

I'll give credit to Miele, their Chinese products was made with complete supervision.

 

[mieles5380leo]

That is true, it is one of the best Chinese products made so I wasn’t too worried back when they did that, but some of the decisions being made now and models like the boost CX1 series concern me.

 

[tseg]

Maybe this is is why vacuum “collecting” exists… tried and true vacuum styles we have warmed up to most of our lives get put to pasture by the manufacturer for one reason or another. Luckily I have a broad assortment of prior generation Miele machines that I hope perform well for decades before needing serviced.

 

[lotsofkirbys]

No, they haven't changed hands...

They are still jointly owned by the Miele and Zinkann families, as they have been for the last 123 years. Though, quality has seemed to falter in newer machines. Miele has been making vacuums in China for decades and they've been superb, so I'm not too concerned with that. QC overall at miele hasn't been as good as it was even five years ago. I think the shrinking of the bagged lineup is due to Miele trying to stay more competitive in today's market (like it or not, bagged machines aren't as popular as they used to be), but, they shouldn't close out of the market and basic design that's kept them going since 1967. IMO the worst discontinuation they've made recently was the Dynamic U1 and the Swing H1, two big machines in the US market. Now they're trying to overcompensate with the bagless machines and the triflex.

 

[mieles5380leo]

Ok it’s good to know they haven’t changed hands though I agree they have hurt them selves in the US market by deleting all uprights. Selling only canisters in a country where uprights are the big sellers is like car manufacturers that try to sell sedans and coupes here in the US, they don’t do well since crossovers and SUV’s are the big craze. The triflex and bagless machines are kind of a poor excuse for supplementing the lack of an upright offering. Miele’s sales have began to struggle in my store because with Sebo’s in our showroom too, Miele just can’t compete. The Sebo’s each have a 10 year warranty from us with a dealer code we give at purchase, they are cheaper and tougher than the Miele’s. I think Miele’s hay-day is passed unfortunately. Once they began to pop up in box stores like bed bath and beyond and have become a well known name they have fallen in quality and the 2 new designs brought out recently are left to be desired. I love Miele and am a die hard fan, but currently I’d only purchase a complete C3 of some sort. I prefer my S5’s and S7 to todays machines.

 

[panasonicvac]

I agree as well, Miele made a mistake getting rid of their uprights and corded stick vacs. As much as I think their canisters are better machines, I totally prefer their uprights and stick vacs more. I think Miele really started to go downhill when they released their bagless machines.

 

[dysonman1]

As a company, Miele were complete assholes when I was starting my vacuum store. The only reason I had any interest in selling them when I started my store is because everybody sells them. The hell with those people. I don’t even know why I tried. I have a Gemini and an Aquarius and I hate them both. There’s never been a Miele vacuum that I actually liked. They are not repairable, so any Miele that comes in for service gets traded in and the machine thrown in the dumpster. You have to be a dealer and order thousands of dollars worth of machines every year in order to get repair parts. Hell no.

Sebo wants a $4000 opening order to be a dealer. I have no Sebos in my collection and I don’t particularly care for the machine. I guess it’s OK if you have a cleaning lady. But I would never clean my house with one.

 

[luxlife]

Neither brand is safe from the cleaning lady..

My Capricorn’s hose handle has developed a short after years of domestic abuse. I’ve got both sizes of power nozzles. One has worn bristles and the other makes an incredible whiny/grinding noise. Needless to say, it’s for straight suction use only.

 

[lotsofkirbys]

That's interesting

I've heard that from a lot of dealers who only sell their vacuums, in fact, the only people I've heard say good things about working with Miele are those who sell their major appliances as well.

I've noticed kind of a trend Miele has, where they make massive innovation but quality suffers (s658) or they make excellent quality, but refine what they'd done before, (s5980/5981). Only time will tell if they return their focus on quality, not radical innovation. Their bagless machines and the triflex are cool ideas in concept, but, like the Art series, they've been executed poorly.

I know I prefer my Gemini to any Miele they currently make. Other than the fact that new ones have 3ft more cord...

 

[mieles5380leo]

I love my Miele’s. The S5’s are a gem. @dysonman1 they are totally repairable but it is really difficult to find part numbers and the parts are expensive and often take an extremely long time to get in. Our dealer log in has never worked to get into the dealer parts guides and such so that makes things more difficult. They are overall more expensive to maintain than Sebo’s but they aren’t horrible machines. I have a Capricorn, Leo, and Aquarius and I love each of them very much. I also have a couple SEB 236 power nozzles and an SEB 217. Both are great though the handle releases on the 236 tend to break and one of mine are broken. I also have the S7 Salsa which was a good design it just needed some modifications for the next generation but sadly Miele gave up on that.

 

[panasonicvac]

I agree with the other user, I don't think Mieles are bad machines at all. Sure they're not cheap and parts do take a while to come in but they are fixable. Also Mieles can last a very long time as long as consumers don't beat up their machines like they shouldn't, one of my vac shops that I worked for before sold Miele because they've had zero problems with them. Same goes for Sebo as well.

 

[vacuumdevil]

No they haven't changed hands.
However there's been a lot of internal corporate shuffle here in the United States
With cash on hand it took me 4 months to become a dealer. They still have half of their product out of stock because of problems in Germany with lockdowns.

That being said I gave my mother a Chinese Miele S4000/C1
That should speak for my confidence in the brand.


Miele has been in business for over a hundred years I have confidence in the Miele family running their company.

 

[jfalberti]

According to what I've seen, Miele actually owns the factory in China that makes their Chinese made machines, and that most of the parts are sent there from Germany. I currently have three models of Miele, and love them all. Two are over 20 years old and still running strong. One is a S2511 Plus made in 2000, and a Solaris S514 Electro Plus, made in 2003. The third is a brand new Compact C1 Turbo Team. All are sealed systems, and with the exception of the S251i, have HEPA filters. I only use genuine Miele bags and filters in my machines, so I'm pretty sure that has helped them last so long. The first picture is the Turbo Team, the second is the Solaris S514, and the third is the S251i Plus.

 

[mieles5380leo]

Yeah I don’t have too much concerns over the Chinese made products because I have a Compact C1 PureSuction on the sales floor right now and it feels just as toughly built as the Complete C3 Homecare sitting next to it that’s made in Germany. The Classic C1 though made in Germany doesn’t feel as tough as the other two I mentioned but it’s far from feeble. I still trust Miele I am not a fan of the bag less models or the current naming system but I still like them. I do give them props for naming the blizzard CX1 “blizzard” and the have one model that used to be called the electro+ that they renamed the lighting. I was always a fan of Miele’s unique names. The Kona is now back on their website but I am sad that the Compact C2 is gone. It is the official death of the S6 chassis. Though we all know it could make a come back since the S4’s and S5’s made a comeback as the Compact C1 and Complete C2.