Bought a $200 espresso machine off Craigslist and it turned into a $400 repair nightmare

I figured I was saving a bunch of money by getting a used Gaggia for cheap. The guy said it just needed a good descale and it would run like new. Two weeks in, the pump started making this grinding noise and then just quit on me. Took it to a shop in Portland and they found the whole brew group was cracked inside. Ended up spending $200 on parts and labor, plus the original $200 for the machine. Now I'm sitting here with a working machine that cost me as much as a new one would have. Has anyone else gotten burned buying used espresso gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantp282d ago

bennett.mason I think you're being a little harsh on the repair shop here. Diagnosing a cracked brew group isn't something you can just epoxy back together, that thing handles 9 bars of pressure and will eventually blow out again. Labor rates in Portland are what they are, probably $80-$100 an hour, and swapping a whole assembly is the only reliable fix.

bennett.mason2d ago

Did the shop give you a breakdown of what exactly was wrong with the brew group, or did they just say it was cracked and charge you for the whole assembly? I'm always curious if these places are just swapping out parts instead of trying to diagnose the real issue first... I've heard of people fixing cracked Gaggia groups with epoxy if it's not too bad, but maybe that's just a bandaid. What was the labor rate they hit you with?