dolphin at end of life?

[abfab]

I have an 8 year old Dolphin Oasis Z5 which did a great job until a year or two ago. I mentioned to a pool tech that it is getting stuck on the mains and is missing debris. He said that the motor is likely going. I thought these robots lasted years given the price but searching online it looks like it's due for replacement? Should I look into replacing just the motor (if available) or buy new? I've never replaced the rollers or any other parts as they've always looked okay to me.

If I do replace, is there a reasonably priced option I should consider or one that has a longer lifespan? Our pool is only used seasonally, so spending $1000+ on something that is only used for a few months and will only last 5-8 years seems a bit much.
I do like the dolphin as it came with the caddy and remote. It can be a little heavy to lift out of the water however. I don't want to go back to a skimmer vacuum as I love the set and forgot feature of robots. I have no trees or flowerbeds so pool is usually pretty clean.
Also, I'm getting a new liner installed. Should I be concerned that the robot will rub away the pattern?
TIA!

 

[mas985]

Is the track skipping at all? The wheel hubs do wear out and are replaceable. You can usually tell because they do not move around the pool as well and get stuck in certain locations.

 

[abfab]

Is the track skipping at all? The wheel hubs do wear out and are replaceable. You can usually tell because they do not move around the pool as well and get stuck in certain locations.

No never gets stuck except on mains. I haven't noticed any skipping. It will climb the walls but now seems to have difficulty reaching the water line. It seems to miss a lot of spots and favors the deep end. When it goes over some dirt it picks up some but not all. I can see trails of dirt as it passes over. I use the fine filters which I soaked them once but noticed no difference. I usually hose off debris right after use. Seems to move around slower than when it was new but I never timed it for comparison.
I always take it out between cleanings and store in shed/garage. Robot was stored in basement over winters. I typically used it once a week.

 

[abfab]

I also tried turning off my main drains to see if suction was the issue but still got caught. I checked rollers and don't see anything obvious that would explain it getting caught.
I only have one skimmer hole so don't know if an automatic suction cleaner is even an option? I don't know anything about them other than reading some posts indicating they are easier to fix, cheaper and last longer than robots.

 

[mas985]

Are you sure it doesn't just need new tracks?

 

[abfab]

Are you sure it doesn't just need new tracks?

Is there a way for me to test if its a track issue or not? would that explain why its not picking up all the dirt?

 

[tenderfoot]

I hope your issue is simply the tracks.

To your question about whether or not these things, given the high monetary investment, last a while... The answer is NO. Have a look through this sub forum: I have only seen 2 people say they have one that lasted over 5 years. Everyone else is somewhere between 3 to 5 years, and some not even that long.