used vacuum tips?

[Rosebud1]

We are broke, but we live in a rental with white carpets and one toddler, so... we really need a vacuum! We may have to go the used route. Unfortunately, the 'extra' vacuums people have given away to us die pretty quick, barely work (or never were working in the first place), and then we have the expense of the disposal. It isn't really worth it. While I usually love freecycle, I am hesitant to go that route because of that reason.

Any recommendations? The vacuums I see for sale in vacuum shops (rebuilt ones) are still quite high. Do pawn shops sell vacuums? Is there any recourse if I buy one used, get it home, and it doesn't work?

BTW I am in western Canada and things tend to be waaaay more expensive than in the states.

[ctdoula]

I love buying use items & even own a children's resale store... but I wouldn't bother trying to get a vacuum 2nd hand. There are only two reasons anyone ever gets rid of a vacuum. Either it dies or doesn't work. And you don't want either of those.

Walmart has little vacuums starting at $30. We use one at our store (and it gets TONS of use) and it works great.

[chel]

i agree with pp.

cheap ones have done well by me.

[Denvergirlie]

We have 2 vacums, ironically both are the same, a red dirt devil.
We found them both in the alley sitting next to the dumpster, both were found in 2 days, and both had the same problem of being clogged.
Cleaned out the clog, and 4 years after we found them, they are both going strong.

These were most likely no more than $100 at Wal-Mart or the like, and they have held up just fine, even if they were both thrown away due to user error.

Used vacumes are not necessarily bad, but you should be able to find a new cheap one as well, or go with a used store that might give some sort of a warrenty.

[texmati]

My husband had bought a eureka base model 7-8 years ago. We were happy with it for all that time. We upgraded to a dyson a month ago-- but to be honest, haven't seen much difference in vacuuming, aside from looking cooler while you are pushing the thing around. Maybe a eureka would work for you?

[canadiannancy]

We ar broke, have 4 kids and 2 puppies and live in a rental with carpets everywhere. We cannot live without a vacuum. First, depending on what you have to work with, Canadian Tire and some other retailers have dirt devil featherlight vacuum running as low as 40$ it takes a beating, constant daily use and works. Maybe not as well as the vacuums of my dreams, but enough to keep the floor clean.

The other option I would say if you have more money to work with is sears. For small appliance in the under 200$ range, the offer over the counter exchange on defective ones. For example my carpet cleaner(steam extractor) has dies three times in the first year. Because I bought it at sears(price matched from a sale at zellers) I just brought it in and they replaced with a brand new model each time. If I had the money I think I would be tempted to buy from them just do to the one year replacement, as I know fixing vacuums can be pricey.

[eirual]

I don't think used is always bad. We bought a new vacuum from Sears when we were living in an entirely carpeted rental, then when we bought a house we had all hard floors. There are reasons to get rid of perfectly good vacuums. I'd deffinitely plug it in and give a try before you buy if you're getting it used though.

[Usually Curious]

We love our used Oreck, but it was not cheap. However, we did find a newer, used Oreck at Goodwill for $25! Woot!