Polaris 380 pool sweep: Still worth it or not?

[Joerg]

The hose of our Polaris 380 just broke. Ok, it froze a wee bit but I was hoping that this expensive hose could have hung on more than 15 years. It's disappointing, I can take the hose and snap it into pieces without much effort. Since the Polaris is also quite old and the number of (expensive) repairs per year is rising we are thinking of replacing the head unit as well but there aren't any good rebate deals like there used to be.

AFAIK a new 380 comes with a hose but they want a whopping $650. Ouch! Looks like the hose alone with all its floats and other gizmos is around $150. Then we could later buy a rebuild kit for about $250, which would put us at $400 grand total, or $250 less than the whole new thing. Questions:

Is a new Polaris 380 worth it or is there a better deal? Hayward Viper? I have seen the Viper around $400 and it seems to come with the hose.

Does the rebuild kit really contain everything but the hose assembly?

[Ashton Crusher]

I've got a 180 I've been using for 20 years. I found this on epinions and it sounds like something you would want to read..

and these

[Joerg]

Thanks. I had read those but WRT Polaris I now have some reservations because of their high spare part prices. Just bought a leaf bag for the

380 which might now be a lost expense. In the 90's those were around $10-15, now over $30! Every little piece that breaks costs so much.

You are probably right that the 280 is the better deal because it costs less and is less complicated. But I wonder if Hayward could be the better deal. Then there is the Mars HP from Barracuda but I haven't been able to find many reviews for it. Anyhow, probably I'll get either the Hayward or the 280, let the old 380 run on the new hose until it has worn out its last leaf bag and then switch.