We are off to purchase a new vacuum. We are going to get the Eureka Boss 4870GZ. It is Consumer Reports number 2 rated vacuum.

The number 1 vacuum is a $300 Hoover, and this Eureka is less than half the price at $140. The main difference is that this one is not self propelled. It says it cleans just as good.

On the repair history chart Eureka is ranked number 3 behind only Kirby and Kenmore. Surprisingly Hoover is ranked 8 out of the 11 manufactures listed on reliability. They are just ahead of Dirt Devil. Our current vacuum is a Eureka and it has worked great for almost 9 years. In case you are interested, this is the reliability chart:

1 Kirby
2 Kenmore
3 Eureka
4 Riccar
5 Bissell
6 Panasonic
7 Oreck
8 Hoover
9 Dirt Devil
10 Sharp
11 Simplicity