[hyperbovine]

iRobot is a great company. They'll sell you parts to repair your robot. The take refurbished units and sell them for educational purposes [https://www.irobot.com/about-irobot/stem/create-2], with a fully open and documented platform [https://www.irobot.lv/uploaded_files/File/iRobot_Roomba_500_...]. It's so obviously a company that started as somebody's grad school project, and remains so to this day, and I mean that in the best possible way.

As usual, a bunch of ripoff Chinese competitors will sell you a cheaper piece of shit that you'll find yourself throwing away in three years. Resist the temptation.

[gambiting]

Yeah. I got a squeaky wheel on my Roomba 960, sent an email to customer services, they just sent me a whole new wheel module with instructions on how to replace it. Really really great service. And it looks like pretty much all parts of the robot can be bought and replaced separately.

[numpad0]

Note: Create 2 is just low-end 6xx missing a few parts. If you're going to buy it just for robotics experiments, just buy the cheapest models that looks exactly the same(not E5, 690 or 800), or older(OG, 400, 500). Costs the same but when you're bored they vacuum your floors!

[winrid]

Another company is Bobsweep (Canadian company) that sells you parts too and their machines are easy to repair.