Hello everyone. First of all, I'm going to apologize about this long post. I'm also sure there are a million posts about this topic, but I'd like some really strong opinions about what to do here. As this is my first post, I'm posting here because I figure if anyone knows a thing or two about things that clean, it would be all of you. 
You see, we've had a Tristar Vacuum cleaner for the last 10 years, I can't tell what kind of model it is, but I suspect it is at least 20 years old. We bought it used in 2004 from a vacuum rebuilder place. I paid about $500 for it used, that included all of the accessories and a powerhead.
We bought it because it was light, easy to carry around, tough, wasn't made of cheap plasticrap and didn't have any strange or wierd gimmicks, it "just worked".
It's a tough little bugger. It's fallen down the stairs more times than I can count, it's sucked up pounds of birdseed that our cockatiel loves to throw on the floor and it does a great job.
During the times where the powerhead completely clogged, all it took to take it apart were two big fat phillips screws. I'm impressed by the all-metal construction, it's really taken a beating these last ten years.
Even still, we're experiencing a few problems with it and last time I vacuumed the floors with it, I was about ready to toss it out the window. (Although, I'm sure it would take a chunk out of the sidewalk if I did.)
The problems we're having with it:
- The hose keeps coming out of the body of the vacuum. The "L" shaped slot part of the hose end is metal fatigued and bends too easily.
- The power connectors never want to stay attached and keep falling out.
- The power cord is developing "hot spots". When I finish using the vacuum, the power cord is very noticably hot in spots, I'm worried it might burn up.
- The accessories never seemed to fit the hose properly, like they're too small.
- As we vacuum, the hose keeps getting detached from the extender (?) hose, resulting in having to twist it back and forth until it snaps back into place. This makes the job of vacuuming a lot more tedious and longer than it should be.
- The power cord has become detached from the powerhead, it's hanging on by two thin wires. I'm worried they'll eventually break and cause a short.
- My wife hates the long power cord as it is constantly getting tangled. She'd like something retractable that she doesn't have to wind it by hand.
So, we have a few options available to us:
1. Bring our old Tristar to a refurbishment place, get all new attachments, get the powerhead repaired, get a new hose and a new power cord. (The motor seems to be fine and the bags aren't that expensive.) I'm wondering if it is worth it.
2. Buy a new or slightly used Tristar either through a distributor or take our chances and buy one through EBay. (We live about 5 minutes away from a place that can repair them.) The Ebay ones seem like they're nearly 50 percent cheaper than what new ones sell for.
3. Consider buying something else. If so, what would be recommended as a suitable replacement? I'm very leery about buying something made from plasticrap, as I really like the all metal body of our Tristar.
As I was walking through the Best Buy today, I thought, "Wait, Samsung makes vacuum cleaners?!" .. Of course, they're all made from plasticrap and don't look like they'll hold up to more than a few years worth of use.
I'm wondering (Since I come from the Automaticwasher forums) if we have the "Maytag" of vacuum cleaners and it would be foolish to consider replacing it with something new when it could just simply be repaired.
Are there better, more durable vacuum cleaners on the market I should be considering? Maybe ones with better, more modern technology?
Anyway, I'm going to apologize in advance if I accidentally cause a flamewar here.
I'm not sure what my maximum budget needs to be, but we've had visits from both a Filter Queen salesperson and a "Vortex" salesperson. (I don't know the exact name, but that's what it sounded like.) Both of them came in around the $3200 mark. So, I figure that if we had an Electrolux salesperson over at our house, we'd probably look at the same amount. (We haven't yet, but I'm wondering if we should?) What I have an issue with is that I don't want to get ripped off when I could buy a refurbished unit that is exactly the same that could clean just as well, but sells for half the price.
I'd like to buy something that will last me at least two decades (If not longer) and has a decent warranty. I once bought a refurbished Sharp Microwave for 1/3rd off the price and it's still humming along in our kitchen nearly two decades later.
Just a FYI, When we had the rep from Filter Queen visit our house, they showed up at 9 PM about a year ago and we had to cut the demo short because we just wanted to go to bed. We both liked the cleaning power, but my wife didn't like how heavy the canister was. I also didn't like the price..
I know some of you may be cringing, but I want to buy the best vacuum money can buy and if anyone would know what that is, it would be on this forum. "It costs what it costs" is something I can accept.
One small thing, after re-reading my post I thought I should clarify something.. When we bought our used Tristar, I wasn't expecting any warranty on it. A $500 used vacuum as opposed to a $3200 new vacuum seemed like a great deal. I figure that for 11 years worth of use for something that cost me that much, we got our money's worth out of it.
You see, we've had a Tristar Vacuum cleaner for the last 10 years, I can't tell what kind of model it is, but I suspect it is at least 20 years old. We bought it used in 2004 from a vacuum rebuilder place. I paid about $500 for it used, that included all of the accessories and a powerhead.
We bought it because it was light, easy to carry around, tough, wasn't made of cheap plasticrap and didn't have any strange or wierd gimmicks, it "just worked".
It's a tough little bugger. It's fallen down the stairs more times than I can count, it's sucked up pounds of birdseed that our cockatiel loves to throw on the floor and it does a great job.
During the times where the powerhead completely clogged, all it took to take it apart were two big fat phillips screws. I'm impressed by the all-metal construction, it's really taken a beating these last ten years.
Even still, we're experiencing a few problems with it and last time I vacuumed the floors with it, I was about ready to toss it out the window. (Although, I'm sure it would take a chunk out of the sidewalk if I did.)
The problems we're having with it:
- The hose keeps coming out of the body of the vacuum. The "L" shaped slot part of the hose end is metal fatigued and bends too easily.
- The power connectors never want to stay attached and keep falling out.
- The power cord is developing "hot spots". When I finish using the vacuum, the power cord is very noticably hot in spots, I'm worried it might burn up.
- The accessories never seemed to fit the hose properly, like they're too small.
- As we vacuum, the hose keeps getting detached from the extender (?) hose, resulting in having to twist it back and forth until it snaps back into place. This makes the job of vacuuming a lot more tedious and longer than it should be.
- The power cord has become detached from the powerhead, it's hanging on by two thin wires. I'm worried they'll eventually break and cause a short.
- My wife hates the long power cord as it is constantly getting tangled. She'd like something retractable that she doesn't have to wind it by hand.
So, we have a few options available to us:
1. Bring our old Tristar to a refurbishment place, get all new attachments, get the powerhead repaired, get a new hose and a new power cord. (The motor seems to be fine and the bags aren't that expensive.) I'm wondering if it is worth it.
2. Buy a new or slightly used Tristar either through a distributor or take our chances and buy one through EBay. (We live about 5 minutes away from a place that can repair them.) The Ebay ones seem like they're nearly 50 percent cheaper than what new ones sell for.
3. Consider buying something else. If so, what would be recommended as a suitable replacement? I'm very leery about buying something made from plasticrap, as I really like the all metal body of our Tristar.
As I was walking through the Best Buy today, I thought, "Wait, Samsung makes vacuum cleaners?!" .. Of course, they're all made from plasticrap and don't look like they'll hold up to more than a few years worth of use.
I'm wondering (Since I come from the Automaticwasher forums) if we have the "Maytag" of vacuum cleaners and it would be foolish to consider replacing it with something new when it could just simply be repaired.
Are there better, more durable vacuum cleaners on the market I should be considering? Maybe ones with better, more modern technology?
Anyway, I'm going to apologize in advance if I accidentally cause a flamewar here.
I'm not sure what my maximum budget needs to be, but we've had visits from both a Filter Queen salesperson and a "Vortex" salesperson. (I don't know the exact name, but that's what it sounded like.) Both of them came in around the $3200 mark. So, I figure that if we had an Electrolux salesperson over at our house, we'd probably look at the same amount. (We haven't yet, but I'm wondering if we should?) What I have an issue with is that I don't want to get ripped off when I could buy a refurbished unit that is exactly the same that could clean just as well, but sells for half the price.
I'd like to buy something that will last me at least two decades (If not longer) and has a decent warranty. I once bought a refurbished Sharp Microwave for 1/3rd off the price and it's still humming along in our kitchen nearly two decades later.
Just a FYI, When we had the rep from Filter Queen visit our house, they showed up at 9 PM about a year ago and we had to cut the demo short because we just wanted to go to bed. We both liked the cleaning power, but my wife didn't like how heavy the canister was. I also didn't like the price..
I know some of you may be cringing, but I want to buy the best vacuum money can buy and if anyone would know what that is, it would be on this forum. "It costs what it costs" is something I can accept.
One small thing, after re-reading my post I thought I should clarify something.. When we bought our used Tristar, I wasn't expecting any warranty on it. A $500 used vacuum as opposed to a $3200 new vacuum seemed like a great deal. I figure that for 11 years worth of use for something that cost me that much, we got our money's worth out of it.
