I love my Miele vacuum but they're not like the old-school vacuum companies. They too succumbed to modern business practices. They discontinued all their upright models a couple years ago - just 1 year after I bought it. I needed a replacement belt for the carpet brush, but they:
- No longer mannufactured that incredibly commonly replaced part -- probably the most frequently replaced part on an upright vacuum.
- No longer sold any leftover stock of that part
- Did not have a recommendation for a 3rd-party replacement
- Did not have any access to any service manuals for the device I bought 1 year earlier to tell me what dimensions the original belt was.
Additionally, quite a few years ago Miele changed their canister vacuum bags to force customers to replace them more frequently, most recently in 2017[0] but also tried some shenanigans in 2009[1]. Furthermore, the air prefilter quality went from "amazing" to "horrible" during COVID.
I still recommend Miele vacuums because everything else is much much worse. But I can no longer give them an unconditional endorsement, and I worry for their future too. SEBO may be another brand to consider[2] if you find yourself looking at Miele's.
0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsAgQvNkvS8
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deC6hTFMrKI
2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjV3lhD7y1w
