Coffee Appreciation

No experience with older models unfortunately. On the plus side they are incredibly straightforward machines so assuming everything is structurally sound and there are no major leaks, I can't see it ever taking too much work to get one back up to speed.

Struggling to think of anything that could go wrong that wouldn't involve replacing the heating element, new pressure-stat (not sure if they had one on the older models) or some new gaskets. That one does look to have some pitting on the chrome which I imagine is expected given the age.

Any particular desire for such an old model? I'm quite pleased with how the design has stayed consistent over such a long period of time (aside from the base really). Just asking as my new one was less than that (not sure how much market rates vary across the Atlantic though).

Edit: Just had a quick look and christ the new ones are expensive in the US. Never mind the above paragraph!

I have one, it's not great at keeping temperature but you'll learn to work around that. Its temperature is controlled by a pressostat, meaning it will heat until it has reached a rolling boil (110 celsius by my measurements), after which it waits untill the pressure drops below a certain level (around 95 celsius) to then heat it back to a boil.

I've 'upgraded' (led to numerous issues so modified would be better word for it) mine to have PID temperature control and it's brilliant now. Before I would wait for it to come to a boil, start grinding coffee and what not and would then have it it an okay temperature when actually pulling the shot.

If it's been serviced it should last you a while, servicing it yourself is quite easy as virtually everything comes apart with a spanner. Very little to break, so quite carefree in my experience.