This has been my go-to gift for weddings, birthdays, just about anything, but now I find out that it is being discontinued. I wrote to the company to ask them why but they did not answer that, only that they will continue to provide parts. I would suggest that you get it while you can. I have had mine for many years and it performs so well, and very easy to empty and clean.. The removable hand-vac is awesome too! For a machine that gets consistently high marks I can't understand why they would discontinue it.