Miele Vacuum Cleaners

In summary, $40,000 in home damages, (currently) on third non-functional unit in 13 months, with HUNDREDS of man hours trying to reach Miele who actually care or can do anything about it. Read on. The engineering has become sub-par to even $300 DW's while the price remains close to $2,000; and, you will draw the conclusion that Miele has known engineering issues, they pass along onto consumers as cost-saving measures, vs. correct them BEFORE disrupting your home and schedule. Backing all this, is ZERO customer service who could care LESS you are onto a 4th unit in 13 months.

After a number of years, the original Miele DW failed (and while being away for the day) causing $40,000 in damage to floors/cabinets/sheetrock. THAT, was the easy part. What follows is the nightmare you can avoid. The Miele quality is now extremely subpar, and the 'customer service' manages to actually exceed the poor engineering.

Replacement unit #1 (I know. I know...) arrives; with noises SO loud, it sounds worse than a $300 DW, let alone a $1,600 Miele. Replacement unit #2, same issue. ZERO quality control. I asked around; source in-the-know says this is a common Miele problem and feel they simply pass the known faulty units on to consumers. In the meantime, home disruptions, scheduling service replacements, DW's in-and-out of house, and cabinet. Oops, ordered wrong part! Another two week please! In the meantime, 'Regional Manager' genius, since fired, told local repair guy to take a drill to a suspected part (but don't tell owner)... which would void my warranty too I am sure.

All the while, lead times to get replacement units... MONTHS! Customer service, is non-existent. They do not care about the disruptions to your house and schedule. Lots of unresponded to voicemails, no returned calls, kept in the dark as to status, replacement timelines. Second unit is finally found sitting RIGHT IN TOWN for THREE MONTHS, at the local store office. Second and third DW units no good, either?

Take a number. Go to the end of the line. Open a new trouble ticket. Start over with a new "support" staff. We could care less, $40,000 in damage, and you are heading into your FOURTH replacement unit over 15 months. In fact, on 2nd unit Meile finally 'found' it, missing-in-action for three months, on a loading dock all that time. It took the three months to get an answer.

Replacement unit #3 - the noise issue FINALLY solved after 12 months, but, unit #3 will not function at all. Another engineering problem pass on to you: Unit now thinks the water supply line is shut off, and will not run AT ALL. What kind of quality control is there at Miele, where DW's arrive at client site, not even functional? So. $40,000 in damages. Three new units. All, failed. Waiting again for human beings to do SOMETHING. 14 months. TEN site visits to install four failed units (install/diagnose/re-install). And Miele cannot care less. This is the life of living with Miele products, I hope you will avoid.

I highly recommend finding yourself a nearby dedicated vacuum store that specializes in vacuums (usually it's vacuums and sewing machines) and carries different brands. They are still around. If you're in the market for a vacuum, you don't want to buy anywhere else. Surprisingly, they are not more expensive than Best Buy or big department stores like Costco or Target. Moving on. The Miele models were stylish, sleek, small, elegant, fairly quiet and did a great job of vacuuming. Actually a most excellent job! They blew me away, so to say. The company has upright and canister models. The prices range from $190, I believe, all the way up to $800 or even $1,500. I fell in love with the floor model and bought it for something between $190 and $250. I don't remember exactly. I hauled it home like a proud baby momma.

I've had the Miele vacuum now for over 3 years and use it 2-3 times a week. I vacuum my wood floor, ceramic tiled bathroom floors, carpets and it gets all the dirt out all the time. There are also a few different heads such as for dust or wall corners. I use them too. I use the dust head for upholstery such as lamp shades.

I've had to replace only the hose once because it was a more rigid plastic and the way I use my vacuum it had twisted and broke in one spot. I had the vacuum and sewing center store look at it and one of the men who works in repairs said he could replace the hose with the Miele brand or make me a hose on the spot from the hoses he had on hand for the same price. I was skeptical but I went with his "custom made" hose. Cost me maybe $30-45. He said it would last a lifetime. It is a bit softer than the Miele's hose. That part he said the company started procuring from China. Not sure if it's true. Yes, the canister bags are fairly small but very well made. They come about 3 to a package. They are maybe $17? And they usually last me a few months.

I am very very very happy with this vacuum and only wished I had purchased it 20 years ago! It should be on any married people's gift registry request. I don't like the fuss and mess of dealing with bagless vacuum cleaners. My Shark vacuum was like that. I hated cleaning it and every year taking it all apart to clean it in detail. It was a huge mess. Not worth it. Not really. No way! Bags are the clean, sanitary, simple way to go. Don't kid yourself about saving money on bags. You'll be kicking yourself whenever you deal with the dust and dirt. I also like the feature that my vacuum is really small and I can use it on my stairs, even holding it with one hand if need be. It has a retractable, automatic power cord that I roll in with the push of a button using my leg! I wish more things in life were as efficient, hard working, and fuss free as my Miele vacuum!

I really don't understand all these people buying vacuums in non-dedicated stores or Dyson brands or other inefficient, overpriced junk. Do your homework and go for the best. If you are even thinking of buying a fairly pricey piece of machinery such as a vacuum cleaner that will be in your house for (hopefully) a lifetime, look around first. Don't be impulsive. I'm sure there are a few other excellent vacuum cleaner models such as Hoover or Electrolux, but I only need one vacuum! This is it for now.