My pool company is recommending rebuilding or replacing our Polaris, which is maybe 5 years old. Is this a normal lifespan? Thinking about waiting till spring and search for a refurbished model online.

I was able to replace the worn parts on mine and save a lot of money versus buying a new one.

A rebuild in 5 years isn't abnormal, depending on how much dirt and sand your pool can collect and clean up. But I've seen them much older and run fine. We really just replaced them when parts were obsolete or housings had rubbed through by running along steps and other outside corners and edges.

How big is your pool, and how fancy of a model are you looking at? I had to replace mine when I moved into a house with a pool, and a bunch of advice online told me to save my money and get a Polaris 280 instead of the expensive new models. It's worked out great for me. I have to replace bearings every year or two, but those are easy to find online.

And whatever you do, don't ever pay anyone to work on a Polaris for you. Take the thing apart by yourself just once and you'll see why.

I believe that I have the 280 model; I certainly would not have upgraded since I had re-built the existing prior one after buying the house. I am guestimating 20,000 gallon capacity pool.

In that case, I'd recommend sticking with that model. There are several pool company owners that post here, so hopefully they'll tell you the same thing. If not....go with what they say over me.

I've been replacing parts on my 480 over time. I installed a new "propulsion" unit a few weeks ago. Much cheaper to just fix the unit.

The 280/380 are good units.

Just rebuild as needed yourself, they're not complicated. The parts are readily available via Amazon and other sites. 280 owner here, have about 5 years on ours and have made a few repairs for a helluva lot less than a pool company would charge.

My 280 is going on 16 years old, and I have some maintenance parts on-hand, such as the wheel bearings, wheels (the geared track on the inside wears out over time), the wheel securing screws (that often break on removal) and bag. A few years ago I had to replace the drive axle, as the end was worn down as well, and the tail hose. Get parts from Ebay and save a **** ton vs overpriced retail.

Pool company owner here. Not unreasonable. If its a 280, rebuild it forever. If it's not a 280, go buy a 280. If you're not handy, any pool retail store will fix it for free and only charge for parts. Most service companies fix them for free, too. I know we do.