Kirby Trio

[human]

It's very rare that I see a Kirby at a thrift store anymore, but tonight, I actually saw three, side-by-side, with accessories—a totally grotty G7 (not Diamond), inexplicably priced at $35 with standard accessories, plus a carpet shampooer, a G4 that looked decent at first glance but had some damage for $30 with no accessories, and a Gsix 2000 Limited Edition with a standard set of accessories for $25. The best part was that none of them came home with me. I was almost tempted by the G4 until I saw that the lower cord hook was broken off. I actually considered swapping handle backs between it and the Gsix, but that, of course would have been unethical. The potential cost of replacing that made it removed it from serious consideration. Having three Gsixes already, all of which are in better shape, gave it no attraction, and the G7 was just too nasty to think about; in fact, I think I saw it in the store a couple of months ago with a slightly higher price tag. In the end, I felt good about walking away from all three.

 

[heritage-ii_fan]

G6

Dang... I still am looking for a g6 for a good price lol

 

[human]

It's a sickness, I tell ya, and I've got it bad. My disease is vacuholism. I just can't help myself. Actually, I really have been sick this week with a chest cold, and after being essentially housebound for a couple of days, I felt well enough yesterday to get out for a few hours, so like the addict that I am, I stopped by that Goodwill and found the Kirby trio was still there. Part of me was really hoping they woul be gone, because in my weakened state, I succumbed to temptation and bought the G4.

The good stuff:
This machine is amazingly clean. The bag looks almost brand new, and doesn't even have any dust on the inside. Could the installed HEPA inner bag really be that good?) The metal is quite shiny, even with a few requisite battle scars, and the underside of the floor nozzle, including the brush roll, are amazing. It looks like it's seen very little use—no hair or dental floss, or anything wrapped around it. The TechDrive doesn't click, and the motor absolutely purrs.

The not-so-good stuff:
As mentioned in my initial post, the lower cord hook is broken off, and since getting it home, I've discovered the handle back is snapped in half. Also, the Also, the previous owner did a fairly professional job of repairing a broken lead in the cord under the 'nut' where it attaches to the swivel on the back of the handle, and as just a general annoyance, the headlight bulb was burned out.

Where I screwed up:
When I got home, I immediately ordered a new back panel for the handle for $15, but I really should have waited and thought things through. While it's not an awful price, I could have—and arguably should have—instead spent $20 to get the Gsix sitting next to it as a parts donor. At the time, the thought of buying two vacuums felt like too much of an 'addict' move, even if it would have been more economical in the end. Honestly, if the cord on it is good, it might still be worth the cost. And a working headlight bulb would be a nice bonus.

 

[human]

Update...

Okay, I'm not sure at this point whether this makes me a savvy shopper, or certifiably insane, or maybe both. I went back to Goodwill and bought that nasty Gsix for $20 to get the parts I needed to go on the G4—handle back, headlight bulb, and power cord, plus a plug protector that I'll use another Gsix. At this point, everything is installed, except for the plug protector, which I'll do eventually, and I still may swap the handle back onto my G5 'frankenKirby', which has a charcoal gray one. Given the estimated a la carte cost the parts I've used so far, I'm arguably well ahead of the game and I still have stuff that I could use on other machines in the future; that is, unless I have a further lapse of sanity and decide to spend a ton more money to refurbish it as well.

Meanwhile, I've contacted the eBay seller to request to cancel handle back I ordered last night. The automated response from eBay is that it's too late to cancel the order, so hopefully, the seller will find the message before they send it out, and agree that it would be better to cancel the order and save us both postage by not sending the item out and back for no practical reason.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Vacuumaholics

I think you should get a free pass on this purchase. You made a sound economic decision with plusses that far out weigh any minuses. You have a barn and a storage unit or two so clutter is manageable,and with the money you'll save in the long run with these machines, this was an investment pure and simple,not a fall off the wagon,your seat is secure up here.

 

[human]

Yes, it was definitely the most economical solution, but it still felt surreal to be buying a fully functioning machine, specifically for the purpose of stripping parts off of it to fix another one. At no time did I ever regard it as anything other than a collection of parts, even though it only really needed a good cleaning and a new outer bag. Truth be told, I have gone to some lengths in the past to 'save' machines that were in worse shape.

When I started stripping the needed parts off of that Gsix, I found a service receipt from 2011, tucked inside the handle, where the machine had gotten a pretty good overhaul from the dealer, including a "tune up", new fan, belt, cord, etc. I'm almost tempted to clean it up, then evaluate my other three Gsixes and strip parts from the worst of the lot to refurbish that one. Or maybe I'll transfer the good mechanicals out of it into my G5. There are several possibilities for making good use of it.

I also heard back from the eBay seller about the handle back I'd ordered. They wouldn't cancel the order, saying it had already been processed and shipped, even though eBay shows it has not been shipped yet, and I can just return it for a full refund when it arrives. My only issue with that is the fine print on the listing says "Buyer pays return postage," which means I will be receiving a full refund, minus return shipping. It might not even be worth returning it.

 

[human]

Not happy with eBay seller...

So I'm a little bit ticked off right now. The handle back panel I bought and tried to cancel arrived yesterday, and to send it back, I'll be on the hook for return postage, despite the fact that the seller, yourpartsdirect13, assured me I'd be receiving a "full refund". I'm sorry, but in my book, netting roughly 65 percent of my original expenditure does not constitute a "full refund", especially after my attempts to cancel the order less than 24 hours after placing it, and before it physically shipped, was thwarted. When I contacted the seller, they incorrectly informed me that it had already been processed and shipped, yet according to tracking, FedEx did not gain possession of the item, nor was a tracking number posted, until two full days after I attempted to cancel. I realize the amount of money, five dollars and change, is fairly paltry, but it's the principle of the thing. It almost doesn't feel like it's worthwhile to return it, but then, the seller just has a bigger 'win'.