Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm starting this review by addressing the confusion about the WARRANTY. (7 Yr limited warranty with 5 free annual tune-ups) The Q&A answers are all over the place about the warranty and whether it's valid if purchased from Amazon. So before purchasing I personally called Oreck customer service and they confirmed Amazon is an AUTHORIZED RETAIL DEALER and the warranty is valid provided it is both SOLD BY and FULFILLED BY Amazon (no third party seller involved). Print a copy of your Amazon invoice and keep it in a handy place for when you need service. I also called the nearest Oreck store and asked if they would price match Amazon and the lady said they couldn't afford not to. But in the end I purchased from Amazon since the nearest store is 40 miles away (one way) and this vacuum could be delivered in 2 days thanks to Prime shipping. Some reviewers have stated they had trouble with the nearest Oreck store refusing to perform the free annual tune-ups or repairs under the warranty because it wasn't purchased from them. When I called Oreck I asked about this and was told if the store is an Oreck Clean Home Center, they are required to do it whether you purchased from them or not. If they refuse, simply call Oreck and report them to customer service. If there isn't a center near you, call Oreck and find out where you can take it. I haven't had a problem yet, just wanted to pass along the info. My first word of advice is read the description before you buy and read the manual before using the vacuum. A lot of the negative reviews are unfair to the product due to consumer failure to do one or both. I decided to get the Magnesium in spite of the many negatives because it quickly became clear some of them are erroneously unfair, some are simply moronic and of course some are legit complaints. Now for the product itself. First - it works great on new Mohawk plush carpet. I had an 11 yr old Oreck XL and when we moved to a new house with plush carpet the XL would not begin to push through it. Never thought of that! The Mohawk carpet site had a list of vacuums that would work on their carpet and the Magnesium RS was on it. My Oreck XL experience was smooth and reliable so I didn't want to risk trying any other brand. I've had it for about about 4 1/2 months, use it about once a week... no kids... one small puppy... one messy husband. It arrived well packaged and undamaged. The only assembly required is attaching the handle to the base which was "literally" a snap. There's a plastic strip in the battery compartment on the handle that has to be removed. There was a bag already installed and 1 extra bag in the box. It has high and low speeds. When you first turn it on the default is high. It's super lightweight and the swivel makes it easy to maneuver - it's true that it almost feels self-propelled. It is a lower profile than my XL but don't expect it to go under very low furniture. It's quieter than my old XL. It doesn't leave ugly lines in the carpet. The suction is excellent. I use it on high speed for carpet and low for vinyl flooring and it picks up crumbs on the first pass. The transition from carpet to vinyl is smooth as the height is self adjusting. It has 2 cord storage levers on the back. You manually wrap the cord (30 ft) around them and then the top one turns 1/2 turn clockwise to release the cord all at once (no unwinding). The belt is supposed to last a lifetime so no belts to buy or change - hope that's true. Some reviews complained that the black rubber bumper left marks on their base boards - I"ve never had that issue. Some gave negative reviews because it doesn't come with a hose and attachments - unfair - DUH!- nowhere in the description does it show or say it's supposed to. If that's what they wanted, why did they buy this one? That has no bearing on the performance of the vacuum cleaner. I have a hand held canister and attachments that came with my XL that still works great for upholstery, etc. Some negative reviews complain about the vacuum shutting off when it sucks up a sock or it gets blocked with pet hair and lint - unfair and DUH again! It's in the manual that it's designed to do that so it doesn't damage the motor and you will know it needs unblocking (the headlights are supposed to flash upon clogging). We have a non-shedding dog and don't have big dust bunnies so I haven't experienced the disassembly process to clear a blockage and can't comment on that but it looks simple enough. I only have 2 issues with the vacuum design. The first is the useless cord clip - worthless piece of junk. It's located on the back of the handle and is supposed to hold the cord up out of the way while vacuuming. It swivels and isn't tight enough to hold the cord securely. I'm using a twist tie. The second beef is the VERY blue LED twin headlights. Should be white lights to be useful. Other than those 2 design flaws, this is an excellent vacuum and no regrets. If anything changes, I'll update. I hope this helps others with the buying decision.