I have a Dyson animal, and I think it is about 4 years old. I've had a few small problems, but they are SO minor compared to all the other problems I had with all my other vacuums before this. I had to replace the main hose, and had a horrible time finding them, so I bought a fake version of it on eBay. It works ok, but is a little loose and comes out if I'm using the attachments and pulling too hard on it.
I have very uneven saltillo tiles downstairs, so I can't sweep it, so I've always had to vacuum it. The hard floor attachment works great for it. I use that for my pergo flooring too in the living room and office. Then, I can put on my carpet attachment and do the stairs, and then it puts together extremely easy and I can vacuum upstairs where there is carpet.
I would say the main complaint is that I have no idea where to have it fixed if there is a problem. There really doesn't seem to be anywhere to service them. That being said, I've talked with my dh about getting another one just to keep upstairs, and if I ever did have to replace it, I would not hesitate getting another one! We have 4 cats right now and a dog...plus 3 of my boys are at home...and I need a GOOD vacuum!!
Oh, and I bought mine at Target when they were offering a $100 Target GC with purchase! I guess no one can really sell them at a discounted price, but they can offer something like that. You might see if anyone is offering a deal like that!