Older Style is Better Style
This older style of the Sonicare has the oft mentioned issue of accumulating black mold within the vibrating part of the brush head. Removal of the brush head once a week and a little cleaning with soap and an old tooth brush can prevent the gunk from developing. Germ laden drool tends to seep down into the vibrating magnets area to cause such a problem, but regular cleaning makes this a non-issue. The newer brush heads for this E-series may be better sealed, since so far I haven't noticed this problem with my new unit. My previous one lasted about 7 years until even with new batteries it would not work. That is not bad for daily use. The newer style have moving parts inside that vibrate in order to avoid the mold or gunk issue, but this is a bad idea as moving parts at high speed wear out faster and cause the newer style to be less reliable. This older style vibrates the head magnets and otherwise deep inside it has no moving parts, which is a good thing. The cleaning action is better than my previous brush of the same type, but perhaps my previous unit had been worn out for awhile before it just quit. The brush heads can be purchased on Ebay for a modest price and I recommend this particular style over the new and more expensive units that do seem to have reliability issues -- as would be expected given their fast moving parts inside. Sometimes it is better to go with something requiring a little maintenance when the performance and reliability is better and the cost is lower, to boot!
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned