Dropped $200 on a vintage espresso machine off Craigslist

The thing looked perfect in the photos. Got it home, pulled one shot, and the pump died with a sound like a dying cat. $85 for a replacement part and a whole Saturday of swearing later, it finally works. Anyone else get burned by a 'great deal' on used gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

val_williams22d ago

Well, I hate to be that person, but is it really that serious? Two hundred bucks for a vintage espresso machine plus eighty-five for a part still puts you under three hundred, which is what a cheap new one costs and those don't last either. I bought a used lawn mower once that died after one use, cost me fifty bucks and a whole afternoon watching YouTube videos to fix the carburetor. You ended up with a working machine and a story, seems like a fair trade to me.

anthony_campbell8821d agoTop Commenter

Let's not act like a broken lawn mower and a vintage espresso machine are the SAME thing, @uma_ellis.

uma_ellis21d ago

Fair point, but does the story really make up for the hassle in the end?