Half-Used Kirby Sentria II

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stricklybojack

stricklybojack

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Messages
938
Location
Southern California
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What is a half used vacuum you might be asking..well let me tell you.
I respond to an ad for a Sentria II for a very resonable price even considering it lacked any tools or acessories.
A young couple, he is selling it for her because as she told me on the phone, "it's too much vac for our apartment." They got a Shark and at this point i was very glad i saw the ad only moments after it went online.
"Mind if i quick plug it in and give it a test?" He replied in the affirmative. Right away i knew something was up and i was about to find out what a 'half used' vacuum is..

But first why not a guess or two at what the H E double hockeysticks i'm getting at here.
One hint, let me repeat, 'young couple'.
And no, they didn't only use it like a canister, nor does it have to do with for how long or how careful they were when using it.[this post was last edited: 12/15/2014-18:26]

stricklybojack-2014121517310803925_1.jpg

stricklybojack-2014121517310803925_2.jpg
 
More set up...

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she also said it was "too heavy" and when i checked it out i was in a hurry because he said he had company arriving any minute and wanted the vacuum sold before hand. He also mentioned if i didn't come soon he'd, "let this other guy have it who keeps calling." The apartment had no stairs...
So immediately after plugging it in i see a problem even though it sounds good, and to a someone unfamiliar with Kirby's ( or some others including Royal) it would appear fine... anyone anyone, Bueller?
 
Weeell..

first thing wrong was the green brush roll light was out. And i'm thinking maybe they used a bojack brush roll replacement sans magnet, cause it looked brand new, no hair etc. Hmm.
Then i noticed it didn't self propel...i let him turn it on, he did adjust the brush roll height..Hmm

So i then turn it over while running and see no brush roll activity, but i do notice the belt is loose.
At this point i saw an opportunity to talk him down on price, even though it was already extremely good, "hey you got a broken machine here."
Would you have done so?
Argument against: he was probably mechanically challenged and it probably only needed a belt, i would be taking advantage, sorta an unethical dickish thing to do for $20-$30. Also, he may get offended and sell to the other guy.
Argument for: she thought she had a dud vac and had him sell it so she didn't have to lie, i am always leery of dudes selling stuff for "friends", for this very reason. Meaning although not knowledgable about vacuums they were still trying to get the better of me the buyer, so why not play ball myself? And besides it may be more than just a belt, what if the drive shaft had somehow snapped off, what if the tech drive is a mess? That could get pricey.

What would you have done? I want to hear others on this cause i'm still somewhat torn even though what's done is now done. All will be revealed in my next post, wait for it cause you would never guess what happens or at least why i did what i did..
[this post was last edited: 12/15/2014-21:50]
 
FUNNY!!!!A customer brought in his Kirby Sentria 2 and said the brush wasn't working and he insisted the beltlifter was engaged-turned out it wasn't.Mike showed him the proper way-fine after.
 
Once...

<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">We had a late Sentria come in for "Repair". All they had done was lock the handle in the upright position....</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James
smiley-smile.gif
</span>
 
It begs the question - why they didn't contact the local Kirby branch and try to get some help. I wouldn't hesitate to contact the Aerus Lux branch if I had a problem. But the Lux people are very service oriented with free annual checkups and free delivery of supplies.

Sad to say, but in their case, a Shark outcleans their Kirby.
 
A Shark can outclean a Kirby when the user can't figure out how to operate the Kirby properly. A vacuum is just a tool. The user can make it do amazing things or NOT.

On paper, the Kirby is a much better machine than the Shark. However, if the Kirby customers can't figure out how to make it work, it is useless.
 
It sounds like the user of the Kirby did not know how to engage the belt on the Kirby, therefore the brushroll was not spinning. If that was in fact the case, then the Shark would easily out clean the Kirby Sentria. Chalk it up to user ignorance.


 


I'm still not sure what I would do in Robert's case. Should I take advantage of the situation and buy the Kirby at an even more reduced price, or would I show the user how to properly use the Kirby and jeopardize the sale altogether? I'm not sure, Hmmmm.


 
 
What i did was..

removed the nozzle and made sure the drive shaft was intact. I noticed the belt and brush roll were like new but i hadn't fully put the picture together yet. I chose not to inquire if he still wanted his full asking price given the apparent problem (of some kind) with the machine. Doing so over rode my usual approach to complex machines like G series; which is to try and get them at the lowest price possible because they can hide expensive issues as i have learned.

So why did I play it that way? Two reasons. I first called on a Thursday night while still out of town and asked if they could hold it until Sunday when i flew in, which they did. With hindsight I recalled this and was appreciative. Secondly, more interestingly, and the actually reason that was in my head when I reached for my wallet without saying anything was that earlier that day, while my family and i were riding in the taxi home from the airport, something life changing...didn't happen(?).
We were on the freeway going 65 mph give or take, i was in the front seat and my wife and kids, 3 and 5 yrs respectively were in the back seat. I was talking with the driver and noticing the hood of the car was buckled somewhat. I was watching it to make sure it was at least latching properly and wouldn't fly up unexpectedly as my father had always warned me to be careful about such things. Anyhow, I no more than convinced myself it was solidly in place when i glanced up and noticed a gray couch smack in the middle of our lane only 100 or so yards ahead! Traffic wasn't heavy so it moving fast on the 5 freeway north out of San Diego..I shouted to the driver. He, much to his credit, check his mirror, jerked the wheel to the left, narrowly missed the couch and recovered back into our original lane of the 4+ lanes headed north bound. Watching the rear view he said, "oh no the guy behind us plowed right into it.." Soon we saw a pickup with a load of couch sections pulled over to the side..
Just hours later I was looking at the Sentria II and suddenly remebered the incident and lost any interest in hard ball negotiations. Sometimes we get the reward then do the deed i have often thought, and this was the least i could do to respect that notion.

So once i got the machine home, as far as i could tell, the belt was not engaging the belt lifter properly. I diassembled and cleaned the nozzle, put it back together and all work as it should.
When i went to use the machine i put it in drive and away it went, perfectly.
As far as i can tell they ran it around their apartment without the drive engaged or the belt operating, and so they used only half the vacuum ;-][this post was last edited: 12/16/2014-20:56]
 
KirbyG6:

If the green light is flickering, Then the belt is most likely worn out and as a result, is stretched out causing the belt to slip which will cause the flickering. Replacing with a new belt will prevent slippage and will cause the light to remain on steady.
 
So Robert, I take it you paid full asking price for the Sentria? Even So, it sounds like you got a fantastic deal on a fully functional Kirby Sentria!
 

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