If there exists a company that makes appliances that are very expensive and that last a long time, a company with a real reputation for quality, then it is extremely profitable for that company to be purchased by a hedge fund that cuts quality by 90%, raises prices by 10%, and just rides that train into the ground over the next 20 years.
Miele has that reputation. According to Wikipedia, it "has always been a family-owned and family-run company", which would explain why it hasn't suffered that fate.
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.
> a few years ago Miele changed their canister vacuum bags to force customers to replace them more frequently
Thankfully they also sell bagless vacuums, our Miele bagless is working pretty well so far (though after a couple years it's definitely started to get louder, despite me doing all the recommended maintenance).
I am erring on the side of durability because I'm not really into new gimmicks but it's a daunting proposition to buy the "good stuff". A low stakes example is my Miele dishwasher that I bought when I was outraged at my previous Siemens/Bosch one breaking due to a very simple part that just can't be replaced because of the way the machine is (deliberately?) constructed. Just getting to that place can slice your hand open if you are not careful. So this is all just to say: I get it and I am in. BUT. There no reliable way for me to know that that if I pay 4x as much as that I'll get 4x as much durability. For all I know, my Miele could also break in a year and then what?
