At work, we have replaced many of these Panasonic motors in Dysons.  We also see a lot of Dysons with stretched and worn belts, which means new clutch assemblies too.  You know a vacuum was brilliantly engineered when you have to replace the entire clutch just because the supposedly permanent flat stretch belts have reached the end of their life.

Its the vacuum store I work for.  They have been a Dyson dealer for a few years now.  They decided to be the service center because it gets people in looking, and because we get paid $30 for each warranty service.  In Jan. we sericed about 30 Dysons.  Its a easy way to get money, and we can be sure that we will be getting enough Dysons in for repair.

Quote from Bruce   on 03/05/06 at 2:40am:

 
 
Bruce:
 
Thanks very much for directing your post to me.  It gives me an excellent opportunity to re-post and summarize several points I've been saying about dysons all along.  
 
The huge number of new dysons under warranty for repair at "vacuuman's" store indicate that there are very few vacuum stores that actually do warranty repairs on dysons.  Hence dyson pays $30 per unit. Most dysons under warranty have to go back to dyson and require customers to be without a vacuum for 2 or more weeks.  We've seen this experience reported before on the Forum.  Dyson is backlogged for warranty repairs so the repair time is even longer.  To keep customers satisfied, the retailer/dyson provides another dyson vacuum, usually new, to the owner under warranty.  That's not a huge problem in the beginning for dyson because the mark up is so high.  The warranty dysons become repacks and refurbs sold on the internet and/or retailers' stores.  THis is the same for the UK dyson experience.
 
The practice of using dysons now by vacuum stores to get walk in traffic is common nationwide  For example, a drawing of a DC14 is advertized for $399.99 in the newspaper.  When customers call or walk in asking about the DC14, the store owners' pitch/sell their preferred and/or recommended vacuum brands.  
 
We know from the UK dyson experience (Which?) that dyson vacuums are more prone to repairs than all other premium priced vacuum brands.  And the repairs tend to be costly.  Because the dysons are a $400-$600, buyers will spend the high dollars on repairs after the 2 year warranty.  Vacuum cleaner store owners will do the repairs and charge high amounts.  It's the reason they are in business.  Eventually the dyson owners will get disenchanted and scrap their dyson vacuums due to excessive cost and repairs.  Who will get the business? The vacuum cleaner store owners who did the repairs usually through trade ins.
 
Dyson did more by accident to reinvigorate the vacuum cleaner industry in the USA than all the vacuum makers did on purpose in the last 50 years.  (Remember Fantom).  THis will be dyson's legacy in the USA.
 
Carmine D.

There's a great deal of truth to what Carmine has said.   For example, high quality super quiet German made Bosch canister vacuums are showing up at Box stores like Linens N Things and Costco.  They are also available online at Target.com and Amazon.com among others.  Apparently some Bed Bath and Beyond stores are carrying low end Miele canisters.  Sebo has expanded its internet sales to include almost all models.  Many are buying more expensive vacuums.  Oreck has been doing extremely well with his expensive vacuums.  
 
Many Americans like the idea of getting a really high quality quiet vacuum, and are willing to pay more for it.  Once someone tries a Miele or Bosh premium canister, it's hard for them to go back to a Hoover - even if the Hoover cleans carpeting as well or better for far less money.  
 

Quote from Bruce   on 03/05/06 at 10:57pm:

 
Unfortunately, CR has never tested any Miele's with the premium powerhead, so I've never seen any data to support your claim.  However, I wouldn't be surprised if you were  correct.  The Miele canisters with deluxe brush roll appear to be top notch performers.  The canisters with the wimpy little brush rolls are a different story.