Been lurking for a while, but haven't posted yet. So forgive me if this isn't the place to post this.

I am about to take the plunge into the world of home espresso, and thought I had figured out which grinder to get. I currently have a capresso infinity grinder and wanted to upgrade that. My (somewhat) arbitrary budget was under/around $500 for the grinder and I had been planning on getting the Baratza Vario.

However, after reading so many posts suggesting used equipment, I decided to poke around and have immediately found an "older Mazzer Super Jolly" for $250. It is missing the hopper and the lid to the doser, but even if I have to buy those and new burrs, it still is roughly the same cost as the Vario.

My questions are:

1. Does this seem like a good deal?

2. What questions should I ask the seller?

3. What should I look for on the machine?

4. Are there other new machines I should be looking at other than the Vario?


Also, my plan for the espresso machine is somewhat unknown, but I am still working up the budget for that and will be borrowing a friend's Gaggia in the meantime, while I figure out my exact use patterns. I expect that to be for only a few months.

Anyway, I know this is kind of a lot for a first time poster, so thanks in advance!