Oreck HEPA Upright Bagged Vacuum Cleaner, Lightweight, 30 ft Power Cord, UK30205PC, Blue Type CC Antimicrobial Upright Vacuum Cleaner Bag, AK1CC6, 6 Pack, Blue

Having had cheaper vacuum cleaners (under $100) routinely break down in the past, I decided to go "upscale" and buy one of the famed Oreck units at $400, hoping that it might last for 20-25 years (or longer) like appliances used to. No. It stopped operating after 5-1/2 years. When I purchased the unit in 2019, it came with a 7-year "limited" warranty. Seems impressive, right? Well, at Oreck's direction I took it to an authorized repair shop, where one of the staff informed me that Oreck had given up on this model and it was no longer even possible to order replacement parts. So where does that leave a buyer with a unit that still has another 1-1/2 years remaining on the warranty? I suggested to Oreck that since it was their decision to discontinue the model (and not continue to offer replacement parts) they should provide me with a free newer replacement unit that *is* serviceable. It doesn't sound like that will happen. The repair shop staff did think that there might be a chance to get the unit working again. In the end, it required a belt replacement (which they found new -- not sure if OEM or generic) and a rug plate replacement (no longer available new but they found a used [salvaged] part that was in good enough shape). Parts plus labor was $85 -- all out of (my) pocket. It gets two stars because it worked alright before it stopped operating, and only works again now (and who knows for how long) after investing another $85. At least it didn't end up on the scrap heap (yet).

I loved this vacuum for a while because it is lightweight and seemed to work well. Then, after 3 years of light use the entire top of the vacuum broke off from the bottom. This was covered under warranty thankfully, but shortly after that the fan went out. I have now had that replaced 2x only for it to immediately go out again (burning smell, crazy loud noise). For the price this should’ve lasted longer than the 4 years I’ve had it.