Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Because of old age, arthritis and a bad back, I am retiring my Hoover which cleans OK but is hard to maneuver and weighs a ton.

Was going to buy Tacony 8 LB which is purported to be the same as the Bissell Prolite. However, there were some negative reviews regarding pet hair on the Prolite so I gave up on that because it seems my dog sheds half of his fur daily :-)

Then I considered the Royal MRY5000 at Amazon but cannot find reviews and Royal's website does not say if it goes from carpet to bare floors. They say the MRY6400 does but does not say the weight on the site.

Next for consideration is the Oreck Oreck XL2100RHB-2. This one has 2 speeds and that is a desirable feature. But I have read some negative things about Orecks so am conflicted while at the same time, seriously considering this machine.

Next, I saw a Hoover Clean and Light but don't know how good that would be either. It is supposed to be 2X the suction power of Oreck. Sounds good but why can't I find this vac on the Hoover site? One review at a seller's site makes me believe this would not be good for my use. For example, I would love to be able to vacuum throw rugs or mats without them being sucked into the cleaner. And I like the idea of going from carpet to bare floors like you can with Oreck.

My dream vac is a Simplicity Freedom F3600 but the price is too steep for the budget ... especially when you add in sales tax.

I don't want a Dyson because the commercials are a little too slick and frankly some reviews of their machines were not all that great. I kinda feel that if it seems to good to be true, it probably is not true.

Any comments on the above mentioned vacs or suggestions would be appreciated.

Chris

Chris;

You actually came home w/a better model than you originally wanted.  This TOL Freedom will clean well.  And yes, changing the belts will not be an issue for you.  If something should happen to the belt, it is covered.  All of the  Freedom uprights have a circuit breaker.  It can come in handy and also save your machine.

I knew that you would not get one for $400.00, but you still received a good price.

"Take care of your vacuum, then your vacuum will take care of you."

<BR> Mike_W wrote:
Actually she got an even bigger discount than the $150 or so I'd hoped for. With bags and seven-percent sales tax all worked into the final price of the F3700 against the larger MSRP the saving is $240 higher or better. That's just about what I saved on my Miele but I think I may start asking Chris for shopping lessons. She did indeed do well.

Venson

Venson wrote:

It pays dividends to do business with independent vacuum cleaner store owners/operators. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:
Top of the morning Carmine,

I think you're so right. The "big boxers" have a more take it or leave it attitude.

Yet, BestBuy surprised me a few weeks ago when I picked up a new external drive. The sales person apparently was allowed to negotiate and dropped the price. PC Richard has done the same in past but those purchases too involved electronic goods.

In any event, I'm happy that vac shops these days seem even more amenable to being more accommodating in regard to pricing despite the MSRP on better product. No better way to "stimulate" the economy than that.

Best,

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hi Venson:

Difficult times call for difficult choices.  Consumers reap the benefits.

Carmine D.

Venson wrote:

Right you are Venson. The sales tax was $30. If the bags are worth $17, I got it pretty close to $400. Now we could have driven to Delaware where there is no sales tax or to one of the state's urban enterprise zones where sales tax is 3.5% but how do I know we would have gotten as good a deal. This shop is 10 minutes away and look what a good deal we were given! If I have any problems, I can take my machine in easily.
I did contemplate buying -  http://tinyurl.com/cah7ar - off the internet but could not get past the idea that once it was here, it would be my dime if I had to send it back. And of course it would not have all the features on the F3700.

Carmine, the box says manufactured in the USA from globally sourced components. I guess that is as good as it gets in today's corporate environment.

I used the Freedom 3700 this morning. The carpets look better than with the old Hoover so I'm a happy camper.

Chris

The Supralites are very good at grooming the carpet.  They are also very good at digging deep for hidden dirt.  I would not compare them to Kirby, but Consumer Reports list the Riccar Supralite just one notch below the current Kirby.  They are a little on the noisy side, agreed.  The bags are huge, the cord is long, the headlight is bright and the vacuum doesn't give you a hernia to lift. 

I have the Riccar model that is just below your Simplicity and could not be more happy.  One word of caution, the fan seems to be rather delicate.  Even more so that other fan first "dirty air" machines.  In the 40+ years I have been pushing a vacuum, I just shattered, and I do mean to the point of pieces falling out the front of the machine for the first time.   The item under the bed was a small charm that had fallen off my mother's necklace, not very large but quite damaging.  The cost of repair was about $30.  As someone with failing eyesight, I fear that the incident may be repeated, but I will be much more careful.

Venson wrote:
The Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price is used more as a "feel good" technique.  It is used by some vac shops to make the customer think the shop is giving them a great  deal.  They post the MSRP on the machine, then tell the customer they will drop the price $100.00 just for them today. That is high still.   Not every vac shop uses MSRP.  If you call up every Riccar/Simplicity dealer,  you will find that they are  not selling the TOL "8lb." upright for $700.00.  That MSRP also is used to convince customers, by the manufacturer, that they have a very top-quality product. You who read and follow CR know that they are trying to convince readers that they do not have to spend alot of money for a vacuum cleaner.  

Adding bags to a purchase is very common.  It is just a part of doing business.  I give extras all of the time.  It does not cost alot.  Wholesale price of bags are not bad.

Never start w/ MSRP when making a vacuum purchase.  

Mike_W wrote:

Then where should we start since most consumers are not aware what wholesale price is for the machine?  I ususally take retail and divide by 1/2 or 50% then negoitate from there.   What is the best way to negotiate pricing?

ZZZZZ wrote:

No less than 5 Federal Agencies oversee and enforce the rules for the claim: Made in the USA.  The cognizant agency [cies] depend [s] on the products.  A direct 'made in the USA' claim means that 'all or virtually all' significant parts and processing are of US origin.  But 'qualified' claims are also allowed, including 'made in the USA of US and imported parts.'  Companies must be able to back up either type of claim.  On another thread here about Tacony, the parent company of RICCAR/SIMPLICITY, I posted a site for a YouTube video about the Tacony plant in St. James, Missouri.  You may want to have a look.  It's a short video and worth the effort and time.

Enjoy your purchase.  BTW, $460 with bags included and no sales tax on the TOL brand newest/best lightweight with an MSRP of $700 is a VERY good deal.  Congrats.  And best of all, it's:  "Made in the USA!"

Carmine D.