Navigator Lift-Away UV540

Shark Navigator model UV540. Buy them refurbished on Amazon. I’ve convinced 6 of my clients to buy them (one being a former Miele fan) and they’ve never looked back. Hands down my favorite model, but most Sharks are great and affordable.

Brushroll does have a switch. On my uv440.

The new shark power detect is awesome with the auto empty base but a bit out of your price range. If you want a really cheap one as a secondary I’d recommend smoture (vacuum wars tested it and it actually looks pretty great for the price) and you could get a $199 upright shark from Costco while staying in your price range. Costco is great because sharks aren’t very repairable so being able to return 2 years later is great if you have a membership. Having an upright and a cordless is the way to go, deep clean every week or two with the upright then use the cordless for daily pick ups

I bought a Costco Shark before I got my Kenmore DU3017. It completely died in 3 months with no indication of what had failed so I couldn't even troubleshoot it properly. I was putting off contacting Shark to use their warranty when my dad convinced me to just take it back to Costco even though it was theoretically past their 90 day electronics return policy. Sure enough Costco took it back, and I hope to never have to deal with a new Shark product ever again. Oddly enough my parents have a 2015 Shark NV501 that is still kicking, but that could be because they hate vacuuming and do it probably once every other month.

I know shark is the devil on here but for $250 and under for a bagless machine either shark (a Costco one so you have kinda pseudo warranty) is imo best bet either that or a kenmore bagless I hear is decent too

The cords are often very short and there is no HEPA filter - it spews some dust out the back. It’s for construction but there are high dollar shop vacs that have better options too. I used my Shark navigator (Walmart) like a shop vac for drywall dust and it didn’t hurt it- needed a good cleaning.

Ditto my Shark Navigator lift-away and I could do my stairs while the main machine sat at top or bottom while I vacuumed halfway up - then halfway down thick carpeted stairs.

I have both a Shark and a Miele. I love both, but I do reach for the Shark more often because it can transition from hard flooring to carpet easily and is bagless.