Best vacuum cleaner (one that doesnt have plastic agitator housing)? Dc17 dyson worth it?

 

I bought a Hoover U5140-900 back in march of 2008, just the other day,
it became the third vac in about 5 years to die, because as the belt
broke the agitator flopped around too much, eating away at the plastic
notch that keeps it in place (so any new belts you put on quickly
become scrap)...  This was a bag type..

I had a bissel vac at one point, bagless type (cleanview).. it
suffered the same fate, and the canister was always a mess trying to
empty...  I also had a  Hoover TurboPower Foldaway Upright (3100
widepath bagless); u5178-900, which was similar...

A friend has said to go for a dc17 dyson sweeper.. but brand new at
Target (or online), they are $349 min.   Refurbished, there is one out
there for $198.. its bagless, does well with pet hair, but i'm not
sure if it even has a hose attachment.. i'm assuming the housing isnt
plastic, so maybe it would in fact last longer..

I could just go buy another hoover, for $74 shipped.. and hope to get
1.5 more years out of it.

In 6 years, i've spend $250 in sweepers.. maybe not that bad...

So, is the dc17 sweeper worth it?  Are there cheaper alternatives that
dont have plastic where the agitator lives?

Any thoughts?

Thanks very much