Every 8900 and 8800 series Riccar has that notch in the switch cover for removal with a screwdriver, but it looks like there might be a little more plastic missing. That part is like $2. Brush strips are $20-25 for a set of 4 and a cord is somewhere in the $25-35 neighborhood.
Assuming you know how to do that work and it's worth it to you, then fix it. Otherwise, the clock is ticking on how long you have to return it. I serviced many of those machines and they are workhorses.
