Coffee Appreciation

I have been thinking about a Gaggia Classic, but this is yet another Gaggia fail I've heard about. The other half's Dad got through four of them before buying something more reliable.

The cheapest Silvia I can find is ex-display for £379, can they be had cheaper?

How many Gaggia Classic fails have been new machines? How many ebay purchases? People don't maintain their machines properly and they get sold for £50 on ebay as 'for parts' only to have someone descale them and show they work fine.

Also, Silvia's are twice the price of Classics new so you'd expect them to be substantially better.