They are totally worth the price! I just replaced my first one a year ago. It was 16 years old. The only reason I replaced it was that the hose going into the vacuum had ripped and the newer models use a different hose. The motor was still working fine. They could have ordered me the hose but we decided after 16 years it was worth upgrading. The new one has a fancier filter system than the one I bought in 1994.
Love mine as well. The bags aren't cheap though either, so make sure you look at total cost of using it - if your cringe every time you have to buy bags, you probably won't like the vaccuuum. 3m makes bags that are cheaper than the meile brand.