I owned a DC16 Animal back in 2008-2010
It was great! I sold it to a friend (who has it mounted to her laundry room wall, and still uses it) and upgraded to the DC35 Digital Slim when it released. The suction of the DC16 was adequate, but at the time better than any cordless I had used. The kickass cyclonic filtration along the interchangeable tools made it a game changer. When I got mine, the battery still held a 6 minute charge, which was enough for cleaning the car, and cleaning fur off the furniture. Now the battery life on my DC59 Digital Slim is 5 times longer, and I've never had it die on me during a job. If you plan to keep it around, I highly recommend the Dyson Handheld Tool Kit, which comes with a stretch hose, and a really nice soft dusting brush. Really ups the versatility, and again is great for cleaning out the car.
I sold the DC35 to upgrade to the DC59, which in February Best Buy accidentally had marked new for $290.00. It had just launched in the US, and I liked the DC35 so much, I grabbed it without hesitation. It's an awesome vacuum, and indeed an upgrade in *almost* every way over the first two gen models. I was banging my head against the wall though, when 6 months later they launched the latest Motorhead model, with a much better powerhead. I checked it out at Target recently, and the DC59 Motorhead looks to have the best powerhead that Dyson has ever paired with a vacuum, ever. It's just like the cleaner head on the DC50, but with much stiffer nylon bristles.
I don't know what replacement batteries run for these, but if your initial investment was low, it could be worth it. Because of their grab-n-go nature, my cordless Dysons get more use around my place than any other cleaners. Yours looks like it's in excellent shape! Enjoy! Don't forget to wash both filters if they need it.
Found this pic online. I owned this cleaner in a time before magical camera phones.[this post was last edited: 10/10/2014-21:34]
