Neato XV-21 Pet & Allergy -Scratch and Dent

I've purchased numerous refurbished items (most fall into the tech category) over the years for many different reasons. Most of the time these refurbished items are backed by the same exact warranty as a new item (although not in this case) and as most/all of the components that experience wear and tear on a refurb are often replaced (again, not in this case), you often can not tell that the item has been used. I also pay careful attention to who is doing the refurb and only purchase an item when the work is completed by the original manufacturer. As this item was described as being a "Neato certified factory reconditioned unit" I felt confident that the refurb would be done right, after all their new units get great reviews and I've heard first hand and read plenty about their good customer service. Worst case scenario, Amazon has always (yes, really) done right by me. First Impressions: My husband made a remark about hoping that the unit would stay together when one or two items fell off the unit upon pulling it out of the box. They were easily reattached, so I'm not sure that this has any bearing upon our particular situation. What really bothered me was the fact that despite the claim that these units are "partially disassembled" and "cleaned" the dust bin and the filter were FILTHY. There was a fine debris clinging to every surface of both the filter and the dust bin. Their claim that the unit is "cleaned" was not true in this case and as someone who has allergies significant enough to be treated by prescription medication, I don't appreciate receiving a unit with who knows what in it. With regards to the filter, I have to concede that it does not specifically say that replaceable parts (those that experience wear and tear) are replaced during the refurb process, however, at the very least the filter should have been cleaned with a vacuum or a can of compressed air. Finally, while this did not impact the number of stars I gave the unit, I was struck by how much the unit reminded me of my Super Nintendo lol. My husband did the legwork on this purchase and verbally gave me the details of this item, so I did not know what it looked like before purchasing it, but maybe this look gives it "vintage" appeal lol. Setup/Operation: The setup was fairly simple and included installing the batteries and plugging in the charging station. We allowed the unit to charge overnight and set up a schedule. When it left the charging station the first time it did not map out the room and it didn't go any further than a foot and a half in any direction before returning to the base. We tried again asking it to clean manually, but it did exactly the same thing. So, we attempted some minor troubleshooting, although there was nothing else suggested to correct this situation, but there was no change in the "behavior" of the unit. Warranty (The following is simply my opinion as I knew the warranty prior to making this purchase): In many cases refurbished items come with full (same as a new) warranties and this is likely because companies want to entice customers to purchase a refurbished unit and just as likely because it displays a confidence in their refurbished product. I was not thrilled, or reassured, seeing that the unit only came with a 90-day warranty, but as an optional warranty was offered it did not deter me in the end. But, now that I've encountered a significant issue with this unit and received it in a questionable state, I have to wonder why they were not willing to offer more of a warranty. Was it an arbitrary decision, did they shorten it in order to keep the price low, or does it display a lack of confidence in their refurbished products? Conclusion: I can not remember the last time when I wrote a 1-star review and that's because I try to be as objective as possible when reviewing a product. I don't give one star simply because I didn't like how a piece of clothing looked on me or because I didn't like the taste of the jam I ordered. What works for me doesn't mean it will work for everyone else and what doesn't work for me doesn't mean it won't work for someone else and that's how I try to approach writing a review. So, I do not believe that everyone who purchases this item will have the same experience I did, but I suggest getting the extended Square Trade warranty just in case. In this case, I felt forced to give this refurbished unit one star only as it was still defective (assuming that it was refurbished because it was returned for some issue) when I received it and apparently did not undergo any cleaning. All that being said, this company was recommended to me by someone who owns and loves their Neato vacuum and I've read far too many glowing reviews to write them off just yet. So, I am returning this item tomorrow and plan to purchase a newer model.