Kirby

[texaslady22]

The Kirby guy came by our house and we were really impressed!! With a toddler constantly pushing cars around the floor and a new floor baby on the way, we want our carpets clean (floor baby=we don't believe in "devices" like the jumperoo, exersaucer, play pen, bouncy seat, etc--children develop best when able to move freely on the floor a la Glenn Doman).

We were really impressed with the Kirby, but $1200 is a TON of money for a vacuum. Any ideas on how to get it for the best price possible??

 

[hoosiergirl7]

We've had our Kirby for 13 yrs. It's a great vacuum but it's heavy. However, I've been told that the newer ones aren't as heavy. My parents had a Kirby for 25+ years as well.

My suggestion is that you look for a used one that's only a few years old on Craigslist or Ebay or at a vacuum repair shop if you want to avoid the $1200 price tag. Either that or offer cash for a new vacuum. I have found that a lot of business are willing to give you a better deal if you're offering cash. You could easily get your Kirby for $750 or $800 if you offer cash. We got ours for $1000, $750 cheaper than what the price was because we paid cash. Still a lot of money though.

 

[mom2d&b]

We bought our kirby about 12 years ago. I sold it on craigs list 2 - 3 years ago for $150 because we got rid of the carpet in the house and now have wood floors. I will agree it is HEAVY. My dyson is much lighter.

 

[auralia]

my brother had a kirby guy come in his house once to show how awsome his vacume was.... the kriby didn't get any dirt up, see they have a dyson... so out of cerousity my brother tried the dyson and sure enough it mannaged to pull durt the kerby couldn't. You can get referbished dysons for 200 or less sometimes... kirby just isn't worth the extra money imho.

 

[Sandy51]

I've had my Kirby for 20+ years, and love it.


Sandy

 

[torinsmom]

I wasted $800 on a Kirby 10 years ago. It was so heavy that I didn't use it. When the guy did the demo, I had all these visions of shampooing my carpets and cleaning the mattresses, but it never happened. I ended up buying a cheap, light vacuum to use. I sold the Kirby last year for $100. I imagine you can buy one a few years old for cheap on Craigslist. Just be sure to try it out and make sure it works.

Marsha

 

[kellia]

Don't do it! I hate ours! Darn thing is so heavy, I'd really have gotten rid of it if I could get anywhere near the $1500 I put in to it, but I hate admitting I lost that much on it! It is so heavy, we have a ranch but the basement doesn't get vacuumed as often as it should because I can't carry it down the stairs. The attachments are great with the tubes and all, but such a pain to put on and off. I can never get the front on again right, dh has to do it. Ours is about 9 years old, we had just bought a new house and dd got really bad allergies and we were told that we might have to rip out all our brand new carpet and put in hard wood floors. So, that's why we hoped this would help, didn't really see much difference.

 

[sarita1111]

We have a Kirby and I'm sorry I ever let that Kirby guy in my house. It's heavy, the belt breaks about every three times we use it, the belt aways slips. I paid way to much for it. I should have listen to my friend on typobounty when they warned me not to buy it.

 

[SeansMom]

Just for giggles and...well, you know, I looked on Craigslist in Portland, OR, and there were several Kirby's for $100.00 or less. If you loved it, I'd second NOT paying that much. We had a used Kirby for awhile. I thought it did a great job cleaning. My Aunt had hers for years and replaced it with a new one. They do have a following of sorts.

 

[SandrA9810]

aww... I was hoping you were talking about the cute little pink character from nintendo video games.

 

[drinkme]

Don't do it!!!!

 

[TinkandAriel]

I bought a cheap dirt devil upright bagless as a quick fix when my vacuum died, and talk about the first time I used it on our living room carpet!! Holy crap I sucked up a beach and a whole dog I swear! Anyway, go cheap. )

 

[Sgt Mickey]

We did have a Kirby. You know with buying bags and stuff I got tired of it. I prefer a bagless and I love my dyson. I bought it when dh was deployed and he was a little worried after we spent so much on the kirby and he also loves the dyson more.

 

[KinPA]

I also got roped into buying one from a guy at the door. I paid $1100 for it. I really like it, but recently bought a light bagless thing from Sears for upstairs, cuz the Kirby is too heavy to lug up the steps now.

 

[kathyell]

Please read these before you commit yourself to buying a Kirby. I believe that there's a reason these are sold primarily in high-pressure at-home demos and not in stores, where you can make decisions at your leisure.

http:// associatedcontent . com/article/1865619/3_reasons_to_avoid_an_inhome_kirby.html?cat=6
(Sorry, you have to remove the spaces in that last URL, for some reason the DIS blocks out associated content articles.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Company#Complaints
http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/kirby/kirby_techniques.shtml
http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/kirby/kirby.html
http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/kirby/kirbymail.shtml

 

[pixiewings71]

I had a Kirby for years, lost it in a house fire, replaced it with a Dyson and like the Dyson a lot more. The Kirby was heavy, it was not as easy to switch attachments either. It cleaned very well but it wasn't worth the $$ to replace it with another one. The Dyson is lighter, doesn't use bags, picks up just as much crud and the attachments are easier. Oh and it was much much cheaper. Go with a Dyson instead.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

The Kirby guy came out to our house after we bought our dyson. He vacuumed the carpet after we used the dyson and some stuff did come up...I think it was the sand and also carpet fresh that dh likes to use. We talked him down to $750, but didn't buy it after we thought it through. I think we might have if we had just not bought the dyson the month before. I liked the idea of a shampooer but we do love our dyson. It just picks up the dog hair so well. We've been very happy with the dyson.

 

[dis-happy]

FWIW, the latest Consumer Reports just arrived at my house and under the new vacuum ratings they rate Kirby as lowest (ie. best) of all brands in repairs.

 

[disneycountrygirl]

If you are going to buy a super expensive vacuum, save yourself about $600 and buy a Riccar. I did a bunch of research before I bought mine and it was still a $700 vacuum, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I think it works WAY better than my friends Kirby. And is so much lighter.

But the best part is the 3 year 100% warrenty with an annual servicing free every year. We are REALLY hard on things in our family, and broke vacuums almost yearly before the Riccar. Now we just take it in to the shop and go pick it up when it's fixed - free! We haven't broken any of the internal parts (well, except the belt when I vaccuumed up a rope on accident), but my kids jumped on the handle and broke the plastic, kicked off the front light cover, etc. It's not a delicate vaccuum by any means, but we are hard on stuff, so for our family it's SO nice to have the 100% warrenty. When it's up next year, we will trade out our Riccar for a new one. I'll just keep trading in to keep the 100% warrenty. I don't know any other brand that has any warrenty even close to this one. Warrenties don't generally cover operator-caused damage.

 

[KinPA]

A few weeks after I bought my Kirby from the door guy, I had trouble with it. I called him back and after a week he called back. I explained that I was having trouble with it and he said "Well, Ma'am, it is not really convenient for us to get to your area, you will have to find someone to take it to." But it was convenient for him to come and sell it?? Someone I knew fixed it and I never had anymore problems... aside from being heavy as heck!!