I have to sign for a box.
It is kind of heavy and says Subaru all over it... I am not expecting any parts, so what is this?
Could this be parts like the lip kit I have been eyeing for Cagalli Yula (2014 Subaru BRZ)? The lip kit that became available with the BRZ Series.Blue. Could it be someone got me the shop manuals for the car (something I plan on doing)? I have no idea. I have not ordered anything from Subaru recently.
Apparently it is a Dyson V6 cordless vacuum cleaner.
Not at all sure what I did to get this. Maybe it is in response to the letter I wrote recently. Maybe I was randomly selected for a reward for one of the numerous owner and/or dealership experience surveys I have filled out (I am sure some mentioned a possible reward, but I thought they were usually like a prepaid credit card thing?). No idea. The included card expresses Subaru's gratitude.
This is cool though. I have filled out many surveys for many companies and have never been randomly selected for a reward (which is what I am assuming happened).
So thank you Subaru!
Apparently this is a vacuum that retails for $299.99.
(Note: what follows is a weird rabbit hole I went down. This post was barely related to cars or automotive manufacturers so far and is less so as this post progresses.)
The Dyson V6 on the exterior of its packaging mentions patents (3 times), technology (a bunch of times), invention (a bunch of times) and has the following statement displayed prominently on the box:
"At Dyson, it's our inventions that set us apart. Our technologies are patented, which means they can't be copied." [James Dyson, Inventor of cyclone vacuum technology]
As someone who works in patents and kind of pays attention to these things it struck me as odd and as coming on a bit strong.
But, here is what really gets me: for a company that claims innovation and technology so strongly they do not emphasize reliability or longevity. In fact, this vacuum only comes with a 2 year warranty.
Generally speaking when making purchases of products I will look at the warranty offered and might even spend more where there is a significantly better warranty offered as between two similar products.
I figure, if a company is going to claim A' is the better more advanced version of A then they should probably be standing behind this with a better warranty. Usually this servers me well, especially with computer hard drives and CPU coolers and fans. I am willing to pay a premium, but I expect a company to stand behind the higher priced item longer than the cheaper one.
For comparison purposes:
The Dyson comes in a V6 HEPA ($269.99), V6 ($299.99), V6 Motorhead ($399.99), V6 Animal ($499.99), and a V6 Absolute ($599.99).
All come with a 2 year warranty. 20 minute run time. Charge time is listed at 3.5 hours.
Hoover offers the Air Cordless Lift Upright Vacuum ($299.99, though on sale for $199.99) and the Air Cordless Series 3.0 Upright Vacuum ($299.99).
Both come with a 5 year warranty. 50 minute run time per battery. 2 batteries. Charge time is listed at 3 hours.
Hoover also has the Air Cordless 2-in-1 Stick & Handheld Vacuum ($149.99, though on sale for $129.99).
This only comes with a 2 year warranty. Run time and charge time are not listed, but the reviews suggest 15-20 minute run time and up to 9 hour recharge time for the standard battery. 25+ minute run time on the extended life battery and only 3 hour recharge.
Bissell offers the BOLT ION XRT 2-in-1 Lightweight Cordless Vacuum 25.2V ($229.99).
2 year warranty. 40 minute run time. Charges in "4 hours or less".
And Bissell has the BOLT ION 2-in-1 Lightweight Cordless Vacuum 18V ($179.99).
2 year warranty. 30 minute run time. Charges in "4 hours or less".
Bissell further has cheaper offerings, between $89.99 and $119.99 with 1 year warranties, 15-21 minute run times. And charge times from "4 hours or less" to "under 6 hours".
I guess what I should conclude from all of this is that stick / lightweight cordless vacuum segment has an industry standard 2 year warranty regardless of price point. It looks like the cost bottlenecks are related to run time, battery recharge time, and warranty.
The one seeming advantage any of these manufacturers appears to have over the other, at least in terms of the analysis done here, is that Hoover's system uses interchangeable batteries very similar to those found in cordless power tools so that one could have multiple batteries charging and/or charged and ready for long vacuuming times. To my knowledge the Dyson and Bissell offerings cannot swap batteries like the Hoover offerings can.
So my question is, where the Dyson appears to come up short when looking at price in conjunction with warranty length, battery longevity, and battery charge time, does the Dyson perform that much better than its competition so as to justify the price difference?
Unfortunately I do not have all the vacuums to test, but I would certainly be interested in knowing.
The vacuum I bought ~3 years ago was a Hoover Air Pro Bagless Upright then for ~$240 including tax, which currently commands a suggested retail of $229.99. Works great, no problems so far, easy to take apart to clean the brush. It was a little bit of a hunt to find an extendable tube but I managed (I had really high ceiling and AC vents when I was living in MI).
When I was shopping for a vacuum I looked at Dyson. They seemed interesting and the reviews were great, admittedly a bit better (not a lot, but a bit) than the Hoover I went with. They also cost about twice what I paid for the Hoover and only included a 2 year warranty at that level. You could pay hundreds more and get up to a 5 year warranty, same as the significantly cheaper Hoover.
I was asking myself then if the cleaning by the Dyson was so much better as to justify such a high price difference.
If I were to replace (prior to receiving this gift) one of the 3 vacuums my wife and I already have it would be the Rigid 6 gallon Wet/Dry (WD06350) I bought in freshman or sophomore year of undergrad and is currently 9-ish years old. I bought it because it is what Home Depot had and was cheap. My parents have been using wet/dry vacuums as their only vacuums for years now especially after we got rid of all the carpeting. My vacuum is arguably a little long in the tooth and I never did quite like the hose or attachments.
Assuming my wife and I keep this we might get the "Dyson Handheld Tool Kit" as some of those attachments would likely be useful if we elected to use this vacuum for car detailing purposes.
Anyways, I warned anyone who read this far that they would be going down a rabbit hole, arguably a not very meaningful one.
But, if you have made it to the bottom, please comment and let me know what the most interesting thing you have been sent in a box that seemed poorly related to company who sent it to you (like a fancy vacuum from your car manufacturer).
I told my parents and my friend who drives a Subaru Legacy to let me know if they get vacuums from Subaru too.
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