Tony, I really think that most of the sweepers made today aren't designed for extremely long life. Then again, maybe no one ever told them at the factory that they might end up at MY house. Like Lloyd, I do the vacuuming a lot, but Karen does it too along with the "very" occasional times that one of our kids does it. We have 7 cats, a dog, and a varying number of kids....and a big house. When our teens have used the vacuum (under duress), they are a bit cavalier in their approach and would prefer to run it over ANYTHING than to pick up the obvious chunks...like Lego blocks. The best investment we made was in a Hoover Steam Vac. With the menagerie we have, I only wish we had bought one sooner prior to destroying the carpeting!

We have had everything from Eureka cheapies to a Rainbow and virtually NOTHING lasts more than 2 years around this joint! Oreck was nice, but again crapped out after awhile. The pricey ones are great, just not here. And then I guess I have a problem investing in a vacuum that costs almost as much as a new Guild 12-string (thru Elderly). DO NOT buy a Phantom.....it has a ton of wacky problems. Our best luck has been with the $150.-$200. Hoovers. We generally have two sweepers and at the moment they are BOTH Hoover. The latest addition is doing very well and has had no problems handling the place so far. Our experience with bagless isn't too hot as I don't think they're designed to deal with pet hair. Plus, I gotta' say that I don't see the "ease" of dumping the damn things, and you get a ton of dust when you do!

Like I say, we're not exactly the average family, but I'd really say you should stick with something under $250. (US). You're not going to get the value out of the other crap. I'm more into the on-board tool ease of usage and the like, and I like the Hoover stuff a lot. I've heard good stuff about Sharp and Panasonic...maybe the Japanese have something going there too!

Spaw