Try before you buy
CTSooner, I would not rebid that demo Simplicity Moxie. I would definitely get warranty. Any manufacturer can have a lemon.
Rob Walton- KirbyLux77, I don't believe I ever stated that Mieles had bad suction. I tried Vaccrazy's Meile Blue Moon and thought it was a great machine with terrific suction. The SEB236 did seem to steer where it wanted and 100% where I wanted but otherwise it was a nice machine. Unfortunately that's the only Miele I have EVER had the opportunity to try. A really nice feature of many Mieles is you can park the wands in the back of the canister and it will turn off the machine while you readjust furniture etc. Then machine turns on again upon taking wands out of storage.
NYCWriter- I don't think you've been nasty at all. I have no problems with any of your posts. Just wanted to put that out, I'm not sure what set off Kirbyloverdan on that. Just out of curiosity what is the dislike towards Long Island. I've heard Bronx is not the nicest area but never heard anything bad about Long Island. It's my belief both are about 10 minutes away in a taxi. Please enlighten and/ or criticize me if any of that is inaccurate!!
For CTSooner, NYCWriter and anyone else seeking a vacuuming I am sticking by my Sebo feelings 110% of completely avoiding them!!! One thing you need to realize if you already haven't is that private dealer vacuum stores do not have the generous return policies like Big Box stores Lowe's, Home Depot or others. Once you purchase and leave that store with a vacuum, YOU BETTER LIKE IT!!! Try, try, try, test, use all accessories, move it around, try different carpet types, bring in a small carpet sample of your own from home or a throw rug from your home and see how you like on all these surfaces. See if the store will let you take a unit home and test it at your home for a day.
What I like on the Sebo D4: long 40' cord, very fast cord retractor, sealed system, very quiet, nice upholstery nozzle, metal bottom extension on telescoping wand, variable speed at fingertips, easy to service brush roll, durable, solid construction and reliability.
What to be cautious of with them:
-- Sebo's only power nozzle that you can turn agitator off for bare floors or otherwise is the ET-1 power nozzle. On that one, it is a very tiny button on the power head that is operable but yet very difficult to turn off with your feet, or maybe my size 10 shoes are just too big for it!! Inexcusable for price paid!!
-- No headlight on any Sebo. On a canister power nozzle where you can go under beds and other furniture, I find this inexcusable especially when paying $800 or so!!!
-- Poor carpet grooming, poor carpet cleaning. On a low profile commercial grade carpet it will zap up rice and other dirt. On a thicker rug, the power head seems to lack the power to properly groom and clean the rug. On a looser weave rug or area rug, the power nozzle turns itself off and is completely incapable of cleaning these rugs at all!!!
-- No edge cleaning on one side, the other side edge cleaning is still terrible.
-- Electric hose wiring connector constantly disconnects itself and flaps around in the air at hose handle. I've never seen a canister vacuum with this awkward loose wire that connects wiring in hose to handle. All of this should be internal, sloppily done in my mind!!
--Inside of suction unit handle has very sharp seam. On occasion I do quick cleanings and vacuum in a hurry. I carry the suction unit in one hand and maneuver power nozzle with other. It's too hard and uncomfortable to do that with the Sebo. Terrible handle design.
--Suction is good, but the Tacony and even another customers Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary canister is stronger. I always run the Sebo on full blast to get the unit to clean right and am still not happy with carpet results. At my other clients on her Berbers I drop the the Hoover Anniversary down to 60% power. My workshop at relatives house where we have Riccar 1700 I run it primarily at 60% power regardless of surface being cleaned and results for both are FANTASTIC!! Yet the Sebo is the newest of all those units.
-- Dusting brush is a joke. Very teeny, tiny and yet bulky plastic on it, makes it difficult to reach many others that you'd want a dusting brush for.
--Unit itself is quite bulky and crashes into everything and awkward to carry.
-- No connection on power nozzle wands to attach power head to suction base for one handed carrying around premises. This is a feature that is nearly standard on several other brands of canister vacuums such as Hoover, Royal, Panasonic, Kenmore, Riccar, Simplicity, Miele and others.
-- Only hose handle functions for user is variable speed.
-- Bend down turn dial for height adjuster. Most canisters are foot pedal
-- Hose handle is uncomfortable after several minutes use-- I have new blisters on my hands from the Sebo.
--Non universal hand grip WILL NOT FIT other manufacturers attachments!!
To each user a new experience. We all have likes, dislikes. In my opinion the dislikes outweigh the pros for the D4 and I strongly recommend against it!! I've been a canister vacuum lover since around 9 years old. I am now 30, and I can't think of a canister vac that I have a harder time with than the D4. I don't like the power nozzle set up on the Kenmore Intuition canisters but at least on that unit it has convenient finger tip controls, powerful suction and better cleaning power over the Sebo. The Kenmore has standard size hose and will fit other manufacturer attachments along with many other Kenmore/ Panasonic power heads.
I have also spoken with Tom Gasko who is on the inside at Tacony and they have made lots of changes to their products and don't have those problems anymore. I know many repair shops that have terrific success with Riccar/ Simplicity and Miele!!
The Perfect C101 is a nice machine, I recommend looking at that. Mieles are decent, Riccar, Simplicity, Lindhaus Aria is one to look at.
Just my 2 cents again!! Want to make sure you REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE BUYING!!