My family has had I believe a G5 Kirby since 1995. Bought it new from one of those salesmen. It has never had any problems at all. Just regular bag and belt changes. The only issue I have noticed is that when the "transmission" is in neutral, it makes a clicking sound when pushing it while the motor is off. Otherwise, great product, and it is still very strong don't see it breaking down any time soon!

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Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles