I had an old Dyson DC01 and a few weeks ago decided to get a new one. I wanted the 'Animal' but didn't want to pay £285, Comet had a Dyson DC14 'Vroom' reduced from £329 to £179... It has the same features as the 'animal' including the pet hair tool (turbo brush) but is actually the next model up with a super duper bit to sort your car out with aswell - not that I will be cleaning mine, I've got far better things to do with my time!
Anyway, I thought that my carpets would be pretty clean for three reasons: 1) I moved into my house only 6 months ago as a new build 2) I was using a Dyson before and 3) I consider myself to be a clean person, regularly hoovering and dusting. Oh my God was I wrong, the stuff that came out of the carpet was unbelievable!
You can't really go wrong with a Dyson nowadays as they all come with a 5 year parts and labour guarantee, incidentally the one I've got is now £199 but still a bargain when you consider the Animal is £285 and it has been reduced from £329.