Hmmmmm I paid a lot more for my machine, a Filter Queen. But wouldn't trade it. My neighbor just bought one of those Dysons with the ball. Darn thing surprised me, does a fantastic job on all the cat hair she has. From 3 cats, all long hair breeds! So check those out.

If you don't mind the noise a shop vac type works the best. I know of some gals that would never buy a regular vacuum after being forced to use their hubby's shop vac when their regular vacuum stopped working.
I have an expensive dyson now and I love it, but had I through about it I too would have gone the shop vac route. So many other things to spend the money on that it costs for a good "quiet" vacuum.
If you have attachments on your current vacuum that you like make sure the hoses match up on the shop vac so you can still use them. Thrift stores often have vacuums too you could check out their attachments if you don't have ones that would work.

have a purple dyson and a roomba, wouldn't have anything else. i recently recommended the dyson to a friend who has a meile that was around $2500. and wasn't performing as well as it used to. she got the dyson and was amazed... i got the dyson because we have 2 big dogs and then 3 cats. i vacuumed the masterbdroom atleast once a week and ran the roomba atleast once a wk too. the first time i used the dyson i emptied the canister 6 times :-0 it was full of sand (orlando FL) that was beneath the carpet pad! it is also the very first vacuum that does not trigger asthma & allergies when i am using it or afterwards. i have no reaction at all now. i used to have to plan to clean early enough so i could medicate myself and still get to sleep at night lol. good luck!~ liz

Go to the library and look at the consumer reports on vacuums. I did that recently because mine is getting old.

I have a dyson also, its more then $200 but worth it compared to the many others I have had.

Funny you should mention buying a new vacuum because I'm on my way to Wal-mart to get a new one. My Dyson Animal is not working for some reason. I've cleaned the filter, unclogged the wand/hose. It will pick it up and then get clogged again. I don't see anything blocking it's way and I'm frustrated. I thought I finally got a decent vacuum that would last more than a year. Because it cost so dang much I'm going to find a repair place but in the meantime I have carpet cleaners coming tomorrow and have to have a vacuum now.

forgot to address your question. I can't recommend any vacuum because every brand I've bought works great at first but later quits working. It doesn't even matter what price I pay, they could be $79 or $500+, they all break too soon for the money you pay. I hope you have better luck.

Kathy, have you tried taking the little extra curved parts that come off for removal of any little clog in your dyson? If it's less than a year old it should still be under warranty too.
I've had my dyson for almost six years now. I sent it in (if I remember right there are only two locations in the US that repair them) at just short of five years for a new belt and something else that needed repaired, can't think of what they call it now. It feels different to me, but gosh it still sucks like nothing else on the market, short of a shop vac. Though like Liz mentions if you have allergies dyson is way better than anything else out there too. Especially a shop vac. The vac I had before, Wind Tunnel I think, had a hepe filter, and was fine until you had to dump the can. Then all that wonderfully filter dust would fly right up in your face all at once. Nope, not a good thing.

Here is a link that might be useful: dyson warranty and helpful information.

I have another question for Dyson users. How heavy are they. The problem with the vac I have now is it just kills my lower back. I love my Roomba, but sometimes you just need to vacuum.

Not to hijack the thread - any opinions on a built-in / central vac system?

To answer cheekybones

I have built in central, but use it only to vaccum the car because I can get to every part with the long hose.

Inside I am most happy with my animal Dyson for carpet, tile, and hardwood. Then I use the shark steam machine on the tile.

Justgottabeme, no, that's the only thing I didn't do. I will try it. I might have over exaggerated the 1 year thing, I may have had my Dyson 2 years. I can't even remember now, but no more than 3. But still, something that costs that much should last at least 10 years.

In the meantime, I went out and bought a Eureka, anyway, I love it. So, far. It picks up as good as my Dyson did when I first bought it. Especially the dog hair that seems to pile up in the hall next to the wall. This is one of the brands I've never owned or had my mother. So, I had no idea how it would do. It was $129 at Wally World.

It's a Boss, one that uses the bags and is bright yellow.

My Mom always bought commercial vacuums and was quite happy with Hoover and Eureka. The one I hated was a Hoover Wind Tunnel. Awful excuse for a vacuum.
Kahty I hope you find that your dyson may be clogged in one of the areas that comes off for cleaning. Mine are near the bottom sides of the machine.
Patti, dyson's are very lightweight.

Love my Oreck!!

I bought th yellow dyson,not surei like it, a little clumsy,big doesnt seem to go where I want it to go.

i think I like my eletrolux central vac

here is from my consumer reports, May 2010
best overall score
.

Uprights
Hoover windtunnel anniversary edition u6485-900... $230
hoover platinum bagged UH30030COM..................$400
Miele S 7210 Twist................................................$550
Kenmore Progressive 35922................................300
Hoover Tempo Widepath U5140-900...........................80
Hoover windtunnel ann. edition bagged U5491-900............140
Kenmore Progressive 36932........................................280
Eureka Boss Smart VAc 4870[]......................................170
Hoover windtunnel ann. edition bagless U5786-900.........160
Hoover windtunnel T-series rewind bagless UH70120........130

Canisters
Kenmore intuition 28014..............$500
Kenmore progressive 2714..............300
Hoover windtunnel 53670...............300

they say..... Uprights tend to do a better job at deep cleaning, but for cleaning bare floors, drapes, and upholstery, canisters usually are better. Vacs with bags usually hold more dirt and emit less dust when emptied than bagless ones.

I've had an Oreck for many years and if it ever dies, I would get another. I do love my Oreck.

Dyson. Not cheap but worth it.

Linda

I inherited my Grandmothers old Kirby with all the cleaning attachments, noisy but the suction on it is the best I've ever owned!
We have bare floors and the noise carries more, which drives my hubby nuts...he's always offering to buy me a different one hoping it would be quieter. I absolutely refuse :)
My girlfriend got a Dyson (don't know what model, she likes hers well enough but it seems just as loud as mine on her tile floors.

Kat last time I listened to what Consumer Reports said we bought a little canister, I think it may have been Eureka. Didn't even think about it earlier when I mentioned Mom had a commercial Eureka, but that thing was put together so cheap that within a few months the first back wheel fell off. Awhile later the other back wheel fell off. It's suction was pretty good so I just kept dragging it behind me until it all the wheels were gone and we felt we'd used it long enough to feel right about buying a new one. Went with a Dirt Devil. Never again. We actually bought a Kirby first, but that thing was so hard to push around we called and returned it. I hated it.

I've always had success with the Eureka Mighty Mite. They are not expensive, so I don't mind replacing them every so often if needed (I've had 3 of them I think over the last 25 years, each more powerful than the last). I have a mixture of hardwood floors and rugs, and two shedding cats, and the Eureka canister works great on both. Plus its light weight, rolls easily, gets into corners, and has upholstry attachments.

I haven't been able to justify the cost of a Dyson, much as I would love one. Hubby has a real hard time thinking $600 would clean 5 times better as our Bissel.

We had a Dirt Devil upright. It worked great for about 3 years then the power head started to chew itself. The thing we didn't like it, the paper filter inside had to be replaced and it cost about 1/2 of the machine did when we bought it.

Bought a Bisell upright with the little power attachment to clean the pet hair off the couch and chairs. We really like it. The cord is 30 feet, which is fantastic. I like a long cord. We bought it on sale for $80. This one has a washable permanent filter, and a Hepa filter. So costs are minimal.

I have the Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary Edition (53670 named in Consumer Reports), which is the canister model. I purchased mine last year on the recommendation of the gentleman who owns a local sew and vac store. It was a new model, having just recently come on the market, and he compared it to the Simplicity canister vacuum that cost almost $200 more. I've had it for a little over a year and love it. I have mostly hard surface flooring and that's the reason I have always had canister vacuums. It's been a great vacuum and I haven't had any problems with it. We have 2 indoor cats and had our sweet dog, Tootie (she passed in March), who used to shed like no tomorrow LOL. I can't believe how much hair came from such a small dog ;o)

I have had a windtunnel upright for the last 8 or 9 years.
still going strong and it works very well, really sucks
up that lab undercoat shedding.

Thanks Kat, for all that info!!
Funny, I saw the Hoover anniversary edition at Sam's Club the other day, I think for $ 160.00 Maybe I should go take another look.
I had a Hoover years ago, and it did work great...since then, I've had nothing but bad luck with vacuums.
My cousin has a Dyson, she's not impressed. I always thought I would love one, but now, not so sure.

I have two dysons and two Eurekas...love the dysons and love the Eurekas...