I would say that it all depends how much use the Sentria 1 has had, and whether its been stored in a damp outhouse or shed to get tarnished like that. If its not been used much and just gathered dust in a cupboard or attic, then I'd go with the Sentria 1, and get it polished up. There is absolutely no difference between the 2 models except for a smaller emptor design and the colours of bag and trim.
I'd want to test out the older model first though to check it worked properly and the tech drive was OK.
Kirby have been using this platform now for 23 years and its long overdue a change, so you could buy the Sentria 2 and in a year or so, for 2014 and Kirby's 100'th birthday, a brand new platform could be launched, thus rendering the Sentria 2 as old hat and yesterday's news.
I would never buy a brand new model that's at the end of the production lifeline, as you will probably be a little miffed when you see the all new Kirby and wished you'd waited till it was launched.
This probably applied to those who bought the Legend 2 models, and then few months later the G3 came out and they wished they had one of them instead.
So, for me, its a no brainer, if the Sentria 1 runs well, I'd get that one and save a few hundred bucks - after all, they are the same cleaner with the same performance.
