Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Review

I've owned a Kirby for nearly 15 years and overall, I absolutely hate it!  The only reason why I still have it after this many years is because it cost so much to purchase in the first place and I didn't want the money spent on it to go to waste.  While I'll agree that the Kirby does an excellent job on carpets, I don't like the idea that you have to turn off the machine to change from carpet cleaning to bare floor cleaning rather than just pushing a button or flipping a switch on the unit like on other vacuum cleaners.  As far as bare floor cleaning goes, the Kirby doesn't do anything more than any other vacuum cleaner out there.  The fact that the accessories are not attached to the unit makes it a pain to switch from bare floor to carpet without having to go back to where ever you store the accessory parts (storage room, closet, etc)...whereas a canister vacuum or any other brand of upright, generally has the accessories stored on/in the vacuum itself.  Also, the weight of the Kirby is pretty substantial for a vacuum cleaner.  At 25 lbs. it's heavy and cumbersome to carry up and down stairs, so if you have stairs you may want to reconsider purchasing a Kirby.  Another thing I don't like isn't something that is specific to the Kirby, since it's obviously not the only upright vacuum out there on the market, but rather something innate to all uprights--the fact that it can't go under furniture without moving things around.  I like being able to vacuum under my coffee table, end tables, desks, etc. without having to move it out of the way to do so.  With an upright, I can't do that, so I end up feeling like I just rearranged the room just to clean thoroughly.  With a canister, I don't have that problem, since most of them are able to go under most of the furniture without a problem--the only thing needing to be moved being the couch and loveseat.  Since I do have the Kirby and can't justify getting rid of it, I keep this one upstairs where the majority of the space is carpeted (all rooms except the bathrooms) and I have a top of the line Kenmore canister vac downstairs to do the rest of the house.  In hindsight, I would have never bought the Kirby and just bought a really good canister vac to begin with.  But when you're young and someone is right there in your home selling you something, telling you that it's better for your family and your baby, you feel a little intimidated and you can't say "no".