Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This was purchased because of the positive reviews & Consumer Report's recommendation. I was amazed at the performance of this product. I wanted to get a higher priced vac & was glad I did...at first. It sucked up animal hair & stray cat litter with great efficiency on both carpet & wood floors. It was also the quietest vac I've ever heard...in fact, on the 8th attempt to use it, there was no noise AT ALL! After vacuuming a 2 bedroom house 7 times, it wouldn't start. The power got to the machine but pushing the start button did nothing. Since I live in a rural town between 2 major cities to the north & south, I'd have to drive at least 45 miles to get this repaired. So I contacted "Hoover's Exclusive Platinum Collection (TM) Member Services Line" ....impressive,eh?...I hope the folks working there get paid by their title, because all they do (& can do) is punch in your ZIP & tell u the location of the service center. They told me that the nearest service was 32 miles away in Tehachapi, CA. I replied, "That is almost 100 miles & a 2 hour drive away" Their response? "Well, that's what it says on our computer" So much for "Hoover's Exclusive Platinum Collection (TM) Member Services"... it's just a call-center sweat shop. There is no repair available in Bakersfield or Santa Clarita. It took a drive of 75 miles & 1hr 45min to Los Angeles to get service. The repair center told me that Hoover is just a name & no longer a manufacturer. They also stated Hoovers are poorly made. The hose needs replacing on my vac. I asked how a hose can go bad after a couple of hours of use..."Poor quality" was their answer. It takes "weeks" for them to get authorization to do a warranty repair & to get parts. It is now 18 days after I dropped it off, & the part isn't expected until next week.!!??$?% If anyone is interested, I'll update this review as time goes on....and on....and on. UPDATE It's now day 27 since I left the vac for repair. No part has been sent to the Authorized repair facility. Another employee of the center stated that Hoover doesn't return their phone calls & that they are almost impossible to deal with. FINAL UPDATE: Are u ready for more comedy/tears? I'll make this short, but these events played out over several weeks...After numerous non-returned phone calls (where Hoover promised each time to return the calls) to both myself & the repair center, KINGDOM Sew & Vac (the repair center, in Simi Valley & LA) felt sorry for me & took it upon themselves to contact their west coast rep to get me a new vacuum. Once he got involved, I picked up the replacement w/in a couple of days (300 total miles driven). Mind you, I didn't buy the Vac from KINGDOM, they did this because of all the lies & delays by Hoover in supplying a replacement hose. If u live close to their stores I certainly recommend this family owned business. It's obvious that Hoover will go to extremes in order not to pay for a warranty repair. They have u'r money....now go away. They will lie to u (at one point they said the part was shipped, it wasn't) If it wasn't for a small conscientious retailer I might still be waiting & waiting & waiting. What do I do when this thing breaks again?!?@?$?^