Coffee Appreciation

Went through the process of searching and researching recently and got myself a (modded) Classic as basically I couldn't find better value for my budget.

The Silvia gets a lot of love but in my experience will always cost you £100+ more than the Classic, so it depends where your budget is at. Mine came with the pressure already set at 9 (or 9.5?) bars, Rancilio wand and a PID and for the the money I paid I couldn't find of a better and more cost effective alternative - Silvias were always £100+ more. This is looking at second hand by the way, it might look different if you were interested in buying new admittedly.

No experience or knowledge with Sage but in buying a Classic (and a Silvia) you're buying something that is very widely used, modded and repaired and with tons of spares and aftermarkets parts knocking around which for me was a big plus - my old machine (far more 'consumer' type) lasted about 2/3 years before getting knackered and making it hard to justify a big repair, which for me was not enough for the outlay and sheer waste so I was keen to get something I knew could be serviced and repaired as and when to guarantee a long life. Many 20+ year old Classic being used today and still working admirably if looked after and serviced which is a big thumbs up for me.