Hi everybody, my first post here, I am about to buy a secondhand Classic from ebay UK and I was wondering if I should worry about the fact that the new ones (Philips RI8161/40) are made by Phillips and the older ones by Gaggia 74507 or 74507bcn...

In your experience, do they last a few good years? Should I try to get the older? I read somewhere that there are some small differences.

Which would be more reliable? Newer=better?

Finally is 85 pounds a good price for a 2-3 year old machine (probably still Gaggia) in excellent (he says) condition?

Will I taste a lot of difference changing from DeLonghi EC155 model that is getting tired?

Thanx for any insights

 

Philips took over Gagggia in 2009 so a 2/3 year old one is Philips. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - solenoid is smaller on the new ones. Price depends on condition and maintenance - has it been descaled and backflushed - boiler purged after steaming. If so, £80.00 is OK but not a stonking bargain. As for getting better coffee - machine needs to be paired to a decent grinder and the use of freshly roasted beans.

 

Second systemic kid, so vital to get the grinder right, but IMHO the older classics are better, the components are better made including the solenoid and the steam valve, however the new one will come with a warranty and s far people on here have found the amazon ones a great deal to be had

 

Philips took over Gagggia in 2009 so a 2/3 year old one is Philips. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - solenoid is smaller on the new ones. Price depends on condition and maintenance - has it been descaled and backflushed - boiler purged after steaming. If so, £80.00 is OK but not a stonking bargain. As for getting better coffee - machine needs to be paired to a decent grinder and the use of freshly roasted beans.

Thank you both for reply.

The descaling and backflushing worries me about this machine, because he doesn't even have the blind basket...and that's a bad sign to me about maintenance...

Could a negligent owner ruin the Classic, if he didn't flush/descale?

If it doesn't leak and works "great" as he says, can I descale/backflush and have a good machine?

For grinder I want to get Delonghi KG79, Is there something better than that in $$ range?

cheers

 

Machine wise I is not everyone's recommendation o back flush and descale, you can descale, take of the shower screen, small cross head screw, tharen remove the group plate which is two hex bolts, this allows you o fully clean the group which essentially is what back flushing does, so just because it has by ever been back flushed does not mean the machine is any less good.

Grinder wise I would try to push the boat out as the one you are looking at is probably not p to the job, there are plenty of second hand grinders out there and they pop p on here a lot.

 

I bought mine from Amazon Warehouse - 'used - Good' and it was in mint condition. It was only the box which was slightly damaged.

I paid the grand total of £93.50 which I was VERY happy with!

Where did you find this on Amazon UK? They have some used, but 130 pounds?

Link, still available?

TIA

PS. THANK YOU Coffechap, I will search the F/S forum

 

Just picked this up for £169.99 on Amazon. Would have gone for a used version, but I thought the 2 year guarantee was worth it! Loving it so far.

 

I picked my Classic up from Gumtree on Sunday. Had been virtually unused for 3 years apparently. £55!

 

Does it leak water from the filter head? Like most people have said

 

Nice one, I'll have a look, thinking of my first espresso machine. Decent price.

Same here. Almost spent the same in accessories since it arrived two weeks ago, plus 2 grinders

The whole 'Amazon warehouse' thing is just a bit of a sales tactic though, they are usually brand new good stock. You tend to see the same items on their all the time. Still nice though.

 

Very tempting to get this used and save some money - or peace of mind from amazon.

I guess second hand is best with a PID pre-installed? but that must be much more expensive?

Anyway, I still need a grinder - and I'm pretty happy with french press and turkish at home for now

 

From what little I've read, a PID on a classic is a lot of money for little benefit. A few responses to this idea have been to save your money and spend it on a better machine in the first place.

I've only just started out on this journey myself though, so take my comment with a pinch of salt until some knowledgable soul comes along.

 

Picked one up last week from the Amazon warehouse for £146.

Is the RRP really £300 though as Amazon claim?

 

A few years ago £300 seemed to be the standard high street price

 

Current Amazon Warehouse link is here

 

Wow, this makes me thinking about getting new instead of used. Great info, thanks.

 

For info I bought one of these Amazon Warehouse Classics this week. It turned up yesterday. The box had been opened and resealed but the machine itself was immaculate, still with the cellophane intact over the chrome parts. It also came with standard baskets rather than the pressurised device they sometimes supply.

However, when setting it up I noticed that the decompression duct pipe was missing. I contacted Amazon hoping they'd just send a pipe out, but was informed that they don't ship out missing parts and, since it was a Warehouse purchase, they wouldn't ship out a replacement machine either - I could either return the whole thing for a refund or just suck it up and buy a replacement pipe myself.

I've decided that it's worth the six or seven quid that a pipe costs from eBay not to have to repackage the machine and lug it into work to be collected by a courier. I'm trying to persuade Amazon that they really ought to refund me the cost of the replacement part, but I don't hold out much hope.

Just something to bear in mind if you're thinking about ordering from Amazon Warehouse.

 

Follow up: Amazon have now offered a refund for the cost of the missing part.

 

Follow up to my follow up: that Amazon Warehouse Classic turned out to be a total lemon. As well as the missing part the build quality was absolutely shocking and the solenoid failed the second time I tried to use the machine. It's currently winging its way back to Amazon, and I'm left having serious doubts about Gaggias in general.

 

Crumbs. I think you've been very unlucky. I know 3 people who've had warehouse Classics and they've all been brand new and perfect....

 

I'm in the same boat with regard looking at ebay and amazon for a classic.

I'm more inclined to go for a well maintained second hand model. I have a gaggia mdf and the classic is to upgrade from an old evolution.

My thoughts so far are to:

1. Get a good 2nd hand classic.

2. Clean and descale

3. Test pressure (i've just assembled a portafilter guage for under a tenner) and adjust opv

4. Swap wand for silvia one.

5. Get bottomless portafilter

6. Practice practice practice

Am I missing anything?

and would I be better getting someone to mod existing portafilter?

Managed to get very good results with the evolution and hoping I can push it a bit with a classic.

Oracle.

 

Scales are a must if you haven't any. Check it comes with a non pressurised basket.

 

I'm in the same boat with regard looking at ebay and amazon for a classic.

I'm more inclined to go for a well maintained second hand model. I have a gaggia mdf and the classic is to upgrade from an old evolution.

My thoughts so far are to:

1. Get a good 2nd hand classic.

2. Clean and descale

3. Test pressure (i've just assembled a portafilter guage for under a tenner) and adjust opv

4. Swap wand for silvia one.

5. Get bottomless portafilter

6. Practice practice practice

Am I missing anything?

and would I be better getting someone to mod existing portafilter?

Managed to get very good results with the evolution and hoping I can push it a bit with a classic.

Oracle.

A grinder capable of espresso grind ...

 

Hi all..

Mine was new from Amazon. It was brand new untouched, all working, still had all it's bits wrapped and/or with plastic film covering them and the box was still properly sealed.

It was, and still is perfect in every way.

I'd recommend anyone wanting a brand new one to take advantage of the price and buy one

Bri …

 

I also got a warehouse classic a couple of weeks ago. It still had its bits covered in plastic and sealed. Looked brand new. Not had any problems with it so far.