Sorry for the rant, but folks should know about poorly designed products. I know this looks like I am a first-time user, however my account no longer is valid, so I had to sign up again.

CT-Mini CT-Midi CT36 CT48 all broken, and they never get transported, just live in the shop. I have had mine for about 8-10 years but pretty disappointed in the fact that my Ridged shop vac that is 15-16 years old still works like the day I bought it and is not broken. It does get tossed around and beat up on jobsites, trucks etc.

On top of that my CT-Midi and CT-36 both have lost the ability to start up when in Auto mode.

Looking at the Makita lineup makes me wonder why I bought all of these Festool vacs. Some of my Makita tools are 15 years old or more and still work flawlessly.

Let's just say that I have invested 10's of thousands of dollars in festool products over the last 10 years and I am really disappointed in my dust collectors.

I am not willing to invest in a new garage just to be disappointed again.

Festool, if you read this, just know you have failed in a market where there is lots of competition.

I am not willing to invest in a new garage just to be disappointed again.

Festool, if you read this, just know you have failed in a market where there is lots of competition.

The new hose garage is a different design and stronger than the earlier version.

...
Looking at the Makita lineup makes me wonder why I bought all of these Festool vacs. Some of my Makita tools are 15 years old or more and still work flawlessly.
...

And I am pretty sure that some (most?) of your Festool stuff does work as well. Assuming is was serviced as any tool needs to be when parts get worn out.

Ref. garages, we do not have the problem with our non-Festool vacs either. Even the 15+ year old ones which had a motor replaced by now. Guess why ? None have internal accommodation for hose storage, let alone an equivalent of a Festool "garage" one can put systainers on. I am sure the HD vacs (unfortunately now out of sale) or the CT 15 would fare the same way. With no hose garage to grab by, there will be no hose garage to rip apart by doing so either.

I think a lot of people think that because one pays a lot, one will get a "lot of metal for his money". This generally holds when one compares cheapo plastic hobby tools without bearings to professional use stuff.
But moving from mid-range to high end, the ergonomics, including weight are important so there will be LESS material on top-of-the-line tools, not more. With Festool, one is paying for a Mercedes/BMW class product versus a Fiat. And, sometimes, versus a Toyota which will overlast the BMW with ease. But will never ride as one.

In some cases, the Mercedes *will* also last more, like the W124 series which were indestructible. But in other cases it will "just" be a better car while it runs. And one pays for that "better" in servicing costs as well as upfront. The parts are lower volume and more complex, hence more expensive the same as the car is. As it is difficult to manufacture them, there is also little non-original "cheapo" market for BMW parts ...


I am 100% that it would have been trivial for Festool to *design* an indestructible hose garage. But. But would people still buy the vacs if they were 5 pounds heavier for it ...

It looks in their original design, the went "too light" as apparently assumed it will not be used as a "handle". Current iteration they used a sturdier construction but still light.

We can feed back to Festool that we want "stronger even if heavier". But IMO that is a wrong feedback. Much better option would be a "stronger and bigger" garage as an aftermarket OPTION for those who need it while keeping the default as light as possible. Especially on the Mini/Midi which are site animals first.

Have a midi for 5 or so years and it does get lugged around a lot onto job sites but there is some push and pull in the shop and it looks fine.

Finally had to replace the Garage on my 36 Auto. I pulled the vac toward me and the plastic broke off in a fairly large piece. New Garage is def. different than the old design.