I had a Kirby and it was very heavy and the belt was almost impossible for me to replace. It's been awhile since I've had it though. There have been a few threads on vacuums on this board and in general people have been happy with Miele or Simplicity/Riccar with a few others sprinkled in. I would look at those brands if you need a vacuum. Search vacuum on this forum for additional imput. I have a Royal commercial upright, but it is heavy too. It does clean really well though.

I've had 2 Kirby's in 30 years. My current one was bought in 1991 and is still working! We currently have wall-to-wall carpeting throughout (except for tiled hallway) but will be putting in hardwood floors so I'll be in the market for a new machine.

I have had a Kirby for 30 years, and it is still going strong with not one service call in all that time. It is very powerful, but the poster who commented that it is heavy was right. Nevertheless, I would buy one again.

We have a great sew-and-vac local store, where I took my son last week to buy a small vac for his college apartment. There were at least Forty! Dyson vacs lined up along the wall for repairs (all mix of models). It was so striking, I commented to the owner. He just sighed and said there would be forty more next week, that they are always in for repairs, and only sell because of the big advertising budget. I'd would never buy a Dyson after seeing so many dead ones.

My neighbor has a Kirby that has been running for close to 20 years. The problem is they only sell them door to door and you have to know the secret handshake to get a deal on one. They are pretty fixated on their marketing model and if the website is any judge they will pretend they never met you if you buy one off ebay and it breaks.

To me, the ideal vacuum is a robot, but until they come up with a long lasting and effective example I'll stick with our old Riccar or perhaps a new Miele if the Riccar dies.

I just replaced our thirty year old Kirby a couple years ago. I don't think they can be beat for getting something clean, nor for their reliability. The metal parts literally wore away but the guts were still working.

They are HEAVY. The heaviest vacuum I've ever used. But they have endless attachments, so if you wanted to use the hose more like a cannister for stairs, etc. it's do-able.

If you are wanting a Kirby, I'd suggest you check out used sights. They show up with great regularity here where people buy them and get money crunched to make payments, or want someting lighter. They are usually marked down very reasonably.

My daughter has bought MANY bagless cleaners and they break frequently. I agree - the Kirby is heavy --- but very well made. (I hope I didn't just jinx my luck with my Kirby.)

If you're looking for an upright, check out the (somewhat) new Meile. They cost a little more than the Dyson, but you might like it better.

I grew up with Kirby vacuum cleaners. I think over a 50 year period, my mom had three of them, but eventually had to go for something lighter-weight. A Kirby was just too heavy for her to maneuver.

Personally, I'm a cannister fan and have been a very happy Miele user for years. That being said, I recently purchased a condominium as a second home that came with wall-to-wall carpeting (which I eventually plan to remove), so I decided an upright vacuum would make more sense there. I looked at Kirbys, but they were very expensive, heavy, have a motor head that's too high to slide under furniture, have unwieldy attachments, and just seemed clunky to me.

I ended up with a new Miele S7 vacuum. It's extremely maneuverable, has the wands and attachments on-board, costs way less than a Kirby ($550-$850, depending on model), and has a vacuum head that is low enough to slip under all but the lowest furniture. It cleans like a champ, has a very good air filtration system, has a separate switch to turn off the rotary brush, and uses disposable bags that are a snap to change. I highly recommend it. You can check out the S7 at the link below. Watch the videos for demonstrations of all the features.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele S7 Vacuum

had Kirby for years. REally think our switch to Miele much better...quieter, easier to move about, etc. And performance (suction) very good.

I have a Kirby I bought at a garage auction in the '70s for about 10 then-year bucks. It looked 20 years old then. Other than needing a belt every several years and maybe a lamp, it runs and runs and ...

However, I use this unit in my basement to pickup wood and metal chips from projects, and lint from laundering. It is not, in my view, ideal for normal room use, although my unit may not represent modern versions. I think our Electroluxes (-luxi?) are better for that purpose. One reason is that the rubberized bag is just not as good a filter as paper bags, and emptying it leads to dust getting loose. Taking it outside for this purpose means a heavy unit has to be hauled outside often.

DW recently visited Meile and liked their vacuum cleaners, but I cannot provide any hands-on impressions.

kas