My wife has been wanting a Roomba for a long time.  Kind of like I have wanted a TIG welder for a long time.  I have a MIG welder... and it works quite well for what I do, but the TIG would make prettier welds.  I don't NEED it, but it would be a little cooler.  We HAVE a vacuum cleaner, and it does a nice job (and, yes, I drive it a LOT), she loves the thought of unleashing a vacuum to do it's thing while she does something else... especially if it doesn't whine (in my voice) while running. 

BUT...  There was no way that we were going to drop a couple hundred bucks to get one. 

But, Mrs. GarageGuy can sniff out a deal.  She found one at a nearby garage sale for $15.  I didn't forget a zero.  $15. 

Obviously, she snapped that little monster up and happily paid the seller.  It came home and she spent an hour cleaning it of all traces of cat hair (we're both allergic).  She charged it up overnight...  And it has been checking out our rooms ever since. The battery life isn't what it should be (not the companies fault... this IS a used unit, and we will be on the lookout for a battery at some point)... 

So, what do we think?

As mentioned, we will replace the battery before long.  The other drawback is that makes noise (like we shouldn't expect that?).  But it is quieter than the "big" vacuum.  We will probably still have the drag out the monster to really knock out the traffic areas.  But the Roomba does a few things that the big one won't do... like getting under and behind furniture we normally have to move.  It also gets behind some items that we normally have to move.  The best part is that we can unleash it in a room, close the door and let it spend it's time cleaning without having to babysit it. It also runs in a pattern that no person would use to vacuum the room... and that means that it actually helps to revitalize the carpet by operating the beater bars (brush) in a different direction that the way people normally vacuum.

And it entertains the dog for a few minutes, too...  She thinks it wants to play. 

Now I just need her to find a deal like that on a TIG welder...