George, where in CT?
I just went through all of this and l listened to everyone. It drove me nuts learning, but it forced me to try everything and that made up my mind quickly. I too am in CT and there were some shops I'd never step foot in again.
I like the Miele, except for all the reasons you didn't like it, lol. I didn't like the Simplicity/Riccar either and I tried them again yesterday and even the guy who sells them steered me away from them. His store demo wasn't too old and the cheap plastic around the hose for stress relief was already cracked. He told me that is the third demo that's happened too and that was done to correct the bad hose design. He's also seen a few come back because their controls on the handle kept breaking. He only will keep the line because the older people in FL like US made and that's all they'll look at. Even though the parts are sourced elsewhere, it's still a US company.
I bought the D4 and love it. Long hose, long cord, best power head I personally used but the Aerus is close. Not sure in a head to head who would win. It's plenty powerful as the hose is wider at the base unit creating a Venturi effect. It's L shaped and gets under all my furniture. It's also built like a tank and the filters are as good if not better than anything on the market. The little blue suction light is kind of cool. I thought I'd hate it at first, but I like it. Get white so it won't show scratches, lol. I have a demo black, but it still is looking new.
I did a full bag test of the D4, Capricorn and Moxie. D4 was the only one that didn't really lose any suction. With full bags the other two didn't work for crap. It's like a bagged cyclonic deal. They won some award in Germany for their suction design etc.. Go to
www.govacuum.com and see their video's on the Sebo D4. It's their pic for vacuum of the year. I only tried the turbo brush in the store, but it was on a shag and a deep pile and we put dirt down and rubbed it in deeply. We used the Miele and Moxie turbo heads and then cleaned the D4 bag and we picked up enough dirt to make me think their design may be a bit better. Not sure if it was a good test, but the guy in the store wasn't surprised as he sells the Sebo turbo head and the power nozzle with all his central vacuum systems. It's what most of the hospitals in Germany use.
I've learned a great deal about vacuums over here, but I've learned SO much more going to the stores and playing with all of them. The store I went to yesterday sells new, demo or sometimes used Filter Queen, TriStar, Sebo, Rainbow (had a newer one there), Riccar, Miele, Royal and many others. He's owned the stores he owns for ages. I asked him what he uses at home..........he uses the D4. Has used all the others and in the end he loves the new Sebo and said it's the best he's sold as they never come back. Said even Miele will have a bad run every now and then, but not too often. Said he gets all the Riccars back for small stuff. He likes Royal better than it's parent company's offerings, but has had a couple come back, but he said that it's not worth the price for what you are getting. Said the lower cost Panasonic has a poor motor that will last 3-5 years and he's seen a few back for motors within the first 90 days. To me that says something about the QC. I was in there getting my dads Panasonic fixed.
You should check out the jumbo thread we had/have going. NYC Writer started it as he was looking. I personally now like the Lux and Sebo D4 the best, but that's me. You may hate both.
The best advise I can share is to go play with all the vacuums in your price range and bring your own bag of dirt and crap. Force them to fill everyone's bag at least half full and then do the pick up the screws test to see which one keeps suction. That can be a telling test. If they have those filters the Kirby guys use that show how much dirt they pick up AFTER someone else's vac has been used, you could go that route too. I really liked what we did with the turbo brush as I too though I would need a powered head and that limited me to the vacs I ruled out even though I could have gotten them for a GREAT price. I found a guy in CT who gave me a great price on my Sebo and am happy.
