Originally Posted by DogHouseMom

We go through vacuum cleaners like they're disposable in my house. Things "break" on them, usually the plastic parts that are used to hold movable pieces (like the plastic brackets in the head that "hold" the roller bar in place, the plastic tabs that "click" together to open or hold close hinged parts like canister lids). I've rarely had a problem with the actual motor's - it's all the cheap plastic parts that break and because they're often part of the "whole" vacuum - not cost effective to "replace" them. I have 3 large long haired dogs, so we vacuum DAILY. We also take the vacuum apart fairly often (3-5 times/year) and clean (with soap and water) all the parts that we can. So yes, we are stressing all of the pastic parts more than the average user.

Well ... last vacuum died on day 367. Seriously. It was a Eureka. It worked great until the day it died. Lots of things I really liked about it too. Too bad.

My husband had always balked at buying pricey vacuums, mostly because it's the cheap plastic bits that break and he figured he could buy X number of cheap vacuums for the same $$ that he spent on one expensive one. This time I put my foot down and told him that regardless of cost, I was looking for a vacuum that had a 5+ year warranty on it.

Got a Dyson. Just a few months ago. So far, I do like it a lot. But the true test for us is longevity.