Dyson DC40

[madabouthoovers]

Those times of make do and mend are coming back! People now are feeling the pinch due to the economic climate, and want better value. I wish places like Espares would charge less for parts as then more people would stop throwing away good items for want of a small part which in itself would cost nearly as much as a whole new appliance - for example, a motor for a miele S5 series would be nearly £160 - who is going to spend that much when you can get a brand new Miele S5 for not a lot more than this? Other manufacturers like Numatic and Dyson sell motors for about £40 for the DC07 and DC14 for example, so its much more worth repairing than replacing, so why cant Miele do the same?
I think as the recession continues, attitudes will change more, and people will make do rather than replace for the sake of it.

 

[madabouthoovers]

In response the the DC40, I just hope they have improved the reliability of the brushroll motors - I wont touch a DC24 or DC25 due to how many of them end up with premature brushroll motor problems. I have a DC15, the first ball cleaner, and I hope that this is not fitted with the same motor used in the 24 and 25.
Aside from the reliability issues, the ball models are very good to use, and Dyson addressed the problems of size, and weight of the DC15 well with subsequent ball models, but I think the DC24 was too small like a childs toy. The DC40 is a very nice looking cleaner, but I have I have reservations about its long term reliability, and at over £350 this model needs to be perfect over several years of use to give good value.

 

[vintagerepairer]

The problem is not that spares have become more expensive or are expensive in general, but that the retail price of new goods has plummeted. I am sure Espares are charging as little as they can afford to do so, even if others are charging less. Also gone are the days where people knew how to repair things. School leavers have been encouraged to stay on and go to University, but in the process at lot of blue collar jobs have disappeared and a lifetime of skills has been irradiated as there were no apprentices to pass them onto.

Personally, I think unless the retail price of electrical goods doubles overnight, it will be a long time before people are going to consider major repairs to their existing products. 'Make do and mend' may be coming back into fashion, but I fear that is all it is; a fashion, something which wealthy people are doing so as to be seen to be doing the right thing or following the right 'fashion'. REAL make do and mend from the 40's and 50's is, I believe, still a very long way away.

 

[sebo_fan]

Espares are definitely NOT charging as low as possible. They are rip off merchants and I only know this because I bought from them in the past before vacuum cleaner spares and washing machine spares were made available from Amazon UK or EBay UK.


 


I didn't want my original post to be assumed that I was attacking Dyson - I was just interested to know what Chris found knowing that he has a Felix to - and yet it is interesting to read different views from gsheen who has both too. Sadly I'm not a fan of the DC40 even though it is lighter. I find the mechanism of the wheels and the pivot hinge a bit too cheap - especially for the asking price in the UK, brand new.


 


I like Dyson's designs but I'm not a fan of bagless unless I'm in pet hair cleaning mode solely and picking up the bird seed chucked out from the cage days. Having now got rid of the noisy Vax Mach Air, the only bagless I have is my mains corded Black and Decker hand held and that definitely suffices, not just for its power but for the ease of emptying and using with its numerous optional attachments, extension tubes, blower attachment and washable filter.  Also the new Dirt Devil hand held I inherited is turning out to be pretty good for stairs., car seats and the boot. 

 

[vintagerepairer]

Well, unless I can compare costs, margins, and overheads, I can't say that anyone is or isn't ripping anyone off. I wouldn't know. Sorry.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well, here's an example. Sebo tools - owners are notoriously either keeping the crevice tool or T shaped flat upholstery tool and they're common as muck but often missing off second hand machines sold on EBAY. 


 


Espares currently charge £11-25 PLUS £ 3-99 for standard UK mail delivery.


Sebo UK currently charge £7-96 and £3-99 for standard UK mail delivery. 


 


Ebay would be a lot cheaper if you're buying the second hand ones but I guess that's a good assumption to make.


 


Other examples: Sebo charge £10-96 for the X series standard microfilter before the delivery charge, Espares are charging £14-26 for the same product before their delivery charge.


 


I know companies have to make money but if you're on a tight budget, I wouldn't say espares is the be all and end all - and Hoover UK were one of the first companies to laud this company on the Hoover UK website for many years if you required spare parts and consumables. On the opposing side, the dust bags (H20) from Espares cost £6-99 for 5 in a box compared to John Lewis who are charging £9-99 for the same product!


 


But then, JL are knowingly over priced in most categories!


 


 


 


 

 

[vintagerepairer]

Hello Sebofan. I do understand the end figures. What I meant was, without knowing what E-spares are paying for stock, I would not be able to say whether they were charging too much. For all I know, they may be making less profit than someone who is charging less anyway.

 

[sebo_fan]

My point is, that espares is the default company that brands like Hoover keep pushing. Therefore, buyers are none the wiser until they start to shop around online and then realise. For many years Hoover UK just used Espares their generic shop online. I don't know if Hoover have since started to sell independently - they used to have another website under the name of "Hoover Direct," or something like that where consumers could buy discounted models & spares. 


 


Other brands like Bosch, Electrolux, Vax, Miele and Sebo have their own online services and shops; it's a pity that Hoover UK don't offer the same.