Dyson DC17 Absolute Animal

The vacuum itself works very well. It sucks up everything. I do wish the attachments would stay attached to the vacuum when they are not in use. When you need service, watch out! Customer service is… very unprofessional, unless their job is to say "no." I had a problem with the motor and the vacuum was very loud. After spending several hours and putting about 100 miles on my car, I finally was sent to a UPS store that would send it back as customer service described. When it came back from the Dyson service center damaged, I had to pay to fix the damage, as it wasn't a "manufacturing defect." I had to hang up on the supervisor because I couldn't handle being interrupted and yelled at any longer. I don't think she let me finish a complete sentence in the 10 minutes I was on the phone with her. Very frustrating. If you buy it, hope it doesn't break.

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For $500 plus I expected this vacumn to last more than four years! At year 2 the cannister pull mechanism broke so I taped the cannister closed. Since then every piece of plastic from the on button to the… cannister release button to the plastic that holds the hoses together has broken. Dyson's response - so sorry, no longer under warranty. Is it just me or did the original commercials say this product was "the last vacumn you'll ever buy". I notice they don't use that line anymore. Yes, Dysons do have great suction power and minimal loss of suction, but I have never had even a cheap vacumn self destruct like my Dyson has!

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This Vacuum is far superior to any I have owned both in Engineering Design and use. It picks up dirt and animal (cat) hair with ease. I have 2 other vacuums that don't come close to this unit. Well worth… the extra money for a Great Vacuum. The only down size that I can think of it is a little heavy if you have to carry it up and down steps. But again, The features are superior to any other vacuum. It has a life time filter. Easy empty bin with the push of a button, plenty of hose lenght to clean steps. All around a purchase you won't regret

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I personally don't own a Dyson but I have two close friends that have owned this particular model and they are both very dissatisfied with it. Both have ceased to function and had to be repaired within a… years time.Beware of those reviews that are based on only a few months use. You'll find that as you do your research that after some time on these machines people tend to not like them for a number of reasons. For what you pay for these they shouldn't be breaking as much as they are. I wouldn't perceive this vacuum to be a good value and certainly wouldn't purchase one based on what my friends went through with theirs.

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I decided to write an Amazon review after losing my 3rd Dyson vacuum yesterday...the 3rd one in under 5 years. My first 2 Dyson vacs were the DC-14 models. The first vacuum lasted around 2.5 years and did… a very good job...for a while. After losing suction, it wasn't worth the cost to repair the vacuum & motor. I bought a second DC-14, which never seemed to have the suction of the first one but the motor burnt out after a year or so. I attributed this to extended use (2-3 times a week) vacuuming 2100 sq foot house (mostly the living room, dining room, computer room, 1 bedroom) 2-3 times/week. So, I upgraded to the DC-17 Animal or Absolute because I do have 2 shedding dogs and 1 cat...thought I'd have better luck with an "animal" friendly vacuum. Well, yesterday, the purple Animal or Absolute Dyson (DC-17) died...and I was so upset 'cause the thing cost me nearly $600 approximately 1 year ago. The DC-17 started to consistently lose suction and power over the past several months. Buttons (on-off, brush) stopped working properly. Vacuum CONSTANTLY started to over heat after 5 minutes of use. I cleaned the filter regularly after being told that an unclean filter contributed to the motor burnout of my 2nd DC-14 (???). However, like the second Dyson, this model disappointed after one year of careful use. I now bought a Bissell Dual Cyclonic Lift Off, which does not receive great reviews here on Amazon. I, too bought into the Dyson hype. I feel saddened that I have parted with yet another Dyson. When they work, the Dyson vacs clearly do a job unsurpassed by other vacuum cleaners. But with a life of under 2 years, I cannot afford these things at $600 a pop! After reading through dozens of vacuum reviews today, perhaps 1 year is the "new" shelf life on vacuums. My mom had a Hoover for 15 years; my husband has a Rainbow that has worked for 18 years. I'm confused and sick of buying vacuum cleaners!

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