glee just picked up a Heritage II for $8.00 at the local Goodwill. Anybody know how much a tune up and atachment kit would cost? I looked on the Kirby website and they don’t sell direct. They just ask you to input your zipcode to direct you to the nearest dealer. I figgure if I invest $100 to overhaul it and buy the attachments, I’m still ahead of the game.
My grandmother has had a Kirby for about twenty years. About two years ago, she bought a second one, so she wouldn’t have to haul it up the stairs. Ask her about the vaccums, and you’ll get the full Gospel of Kirby in 370 unabridged volumes. She swears by them, and says no well-equipped household should be without at least one.
I think what clenched it for her was the time she lost a diamond from a ring. She was devestated. It occured to me to tell her she should look in the “debris cup” which is supposed to prevent pennies and such from being sucked into the blades. She did, and found the diamond, unharmed.
Her newer Kirby has motorised wheels, so unless you plan to haul it up and down the stairs, you never notice the weight when using it. They’re fabulous for picking up pet hair, and damn near indestructable. Honestly, unless you get a dud, you should never have to buy another vaccuum cleaner.
My mom bought a Kirby about eight years ago, while Dad was at work… Sure, it’s a nice vacuum. But the thing is heavy, really heavy. And incredibly expensive. As for picking up dust mites and all of that, any high-quality vacuum, such as a Kenmore for $400, will do an excellent job of removing the mites and not redistributing them in the air. You’d need to shampoo your carpet very often as well to fully remove them, and if you have allergies, you have to do a lot more than just vacuum to take care of them. In my opinion, for the cost and weight of it, it’s not worth it. Go to consumerreports.org and look up their highest-rated vacuum, and if you change the bags/filters/belts when recommended and maintain it well, I’m sure it will last you a very long while and be easier to carry around.
Then, in my experience, she did the demo wrong. As I remember, the deal was to have the HO vacuum a set area of carpet for a set number of swipes (e.g. you say that you normally vacuum an area 10 times, they ask you to do it 20 times) and follow up by vacuuming the same area over with the Kirby. So, yes, in effect, you see everything your carpet cleaner leaves after double your normal efforts.
As other posters have mentioned, it’s super simple to negotiate the price down for the Kirby. Really, it’s just a matter of making sure the salesperson knows the only reason you’re not biting is the price. They usually get on the phone to their manager then and get a lower figure for you. I’d guess they’d go as low as $700, maybe lower.
My Kirby is broken. I don’t know how it happened. We have moved a lot in the last couple of year and that may have something to do with it. The part that broke in on the removable beaterbrush head. It’s the little metal piece that hooks on to the bar; it’s busted off. Now when I vacuum the head vibrates a lot because it’s only attached on one side. So I called the regional headquarters type place to see if that’s covered by the warrenty. It’s not. To replace the part will cost over $300 (or more if they can’t for some reason use the exsisting belts and bristle bar thingy) and take 6-8 weeks to get as they’ll have to make one special for me. Oh, and the motor isn’t covered either, even though the sales person told me that it was. Read the warrenty carefully. Personally, I wouldn’t recomend anyone to spend the money on it.
You might have better luck with a vaccuum cleaner repair shop. I had a similar experience with a different brand, and the repair shop fixed it for a fraction of the price.
No one has mentioned if the “clean up” has changed.
My mom’s Kirby does not have a filtered bag.All the stuff you vaccumed went into this cloth bag. Emptying out the bag was such a hassle that for that reason alone I would never recommend one.
My mom used an ancient red flannel Kirby vac for years, and swore by it…it had scary satellite-attracting headlights, and made so much noise that I feared it as a small child.
It did clean the carpet really well, though.
She was faithful to it til she bought a Rainbow…pain in the ass to use b/c of the little R2-D2 attachment thingie, but DAMN that thing could clean! It put all the other vacs to shame. (Just don’t ever make the mistake of flushing what it collects down the toilet. You’ll clog it all up. That thing could suck paint off walls!)
She still uses it, IIRC. Twenty years later and it’s still kicking.
If you’re gonna “invest” in a serious life-time vac, my money’s on a Rainbow. Seriously.
I have an 8-year-old Kirby, and I think it’s pretty kickin’, but I didn’t have to pay all that money for it, as I was dating someone who woeked for Kirby at the time.
To answer the cleanup question, it has disposable bags.
Still, I think I’d have a lot of trouble spending that much of my own money on a vacuum, especially because I rarely use the shampooer or any of the really fancy stuff.
Also, I recall the hellish cult-like atmosphere that my ex was working in at the time, and how difficult it was to make enough sales to even get paid,as Padeye mentioned. This office had an unspoken policy where the staff who set up appointments would pretty much always set up fewer than needed to actually make enough sales to get paid, and then the salesperson was out of luck. In the morning meetings, tehy had a songbook which included “loser” songs to sing to the people who hadn’t made enough sales. I think I’d have a hard time supporting that type of company now, given the choice.
Forget the Kirby! What you want is the Miele White Pearl. I’m crazy in love with mine. It’s my very favorite possession. It’s easy to carry, does carpets and bare floors, comes with a bazillion attachments, blah blah blah. The best part: two filters, one of them a HEPA. … I paid $450 for a demo model with full warranty. (Retail is $700.)
The Germans know how to design an appliance, I tell ya.
Another former Kirby salesman checking in…
In my expereince, just about everything about the experience was shady and misleading. First you answered a vague “help wanted” add and got hired selling “cleaning products”. The word Kirby was never mentioned. The next day was training, the demonstration (which was in large part to sell YOU on the product.) and the basics of high-pressure sales. The next day you show up to a pep-rally like morning song, complete with blaring “Jock Rock” cd and Kirby fight song. Then out to do demos. The telemarketers set up appointments for “free carpet cleaning” which in reality is a Kirby demo and sales pitch. After you do a bunch of demostrations for the HO, you hammer them for the sale. Commision on a sale $1600, was $350, on a $900 sale was $50. If you bought one for more than $900, you paid too much. Not really your fault, we don’t belong to a haggling culture, we’re not really equipped for it. (in the US) The “calling the manager” is pretty much a sales ploy to give you the idea you’re getting a special deal.
The interesting part of the deal was the psychological aspect of it. You see, if you’re a very clean person and vacuum a lot, you’ll be horrified by the small amount of crud the Kirby pulls up from the carpet. If you’re more slobby (like me) you’ll be equally horrified by the large amounts of crud you get. Either way, it’s gonna make you want it.
So, is it worth it? Certainly not at the “retail” price of $1600. At $900, maybe marginally if you’re a neat freak and will acutually use the thing for 30 years. If you really must have one, ask the salesman if he has a used model, which he probably does for about $400, or, get one on Ebay.
And don’t feel bad for the salesman as he’s either a.) scumbag, or b.) not going to be doing it long.