How important is the warranty when shopping for an espresso machine ?

I think it depends on how much the machine costs and how expensive it would be to repair. If I were buying a $200-300 machine, the warranty is much less important than if I were buying a $15,000 machine. Nonetheless, I wouldn't buy any machine without a basic 90 day warranty because that's when most manufacturing defects appear.

CSME9 wrote:How important is the warranty when shopping for an espresso machine ?

Warranty servicing is normally provided by the dealer. The dealer is more important than the warranty. Be sure you know who you are dealing with.

Also check your credit card. Some offer a doubling of the original warranty on new purchases up to an additional one year.

mitch236 wrote:I think it depends on how much the machine costs and how expensive it would be to repair. If I were buying a $200-300 machine, the warranty is much less important than if I were buying a $15,000 machine. Nonetheless, I wouldn't buy any machine without a basic 90 day warranty because that's when most manufacturing defects appear.

Some well known $1500 dollar and up machine brands offer longer or shorter warranties, is a longer labor warranty better than a 90 day only warranty a deal breaker or are most issues going to develop within a month or so of ownership ?
Most people would prob not want to pay shipping costs to have a machine repaired when most times the vendor could trouble shoot over the phone and provide the part for the owner to install-Thoughts ?

Thanks,

onthego wrote:Warranty servicing is normally provided by the dealer. The dealer is more important than the warranty. Be sure you know who you are dealing with.

+1 on that.

I've heard stories about dealers not adequately honoring a warranty and other dealers going to great lengths to help people who have had problems well outside of the warranty period. So definitely pay a lot of attention to dealer reputation.

Also don't forget about shipping costs. A machine may be warrantied for a year, but the dealer will often only cover shipping costs for returns within a short period (eg, the first 30 days). On a heavy espresso machine shipping costs can really add up, not to mention the hassles and risks of shipping.

More often than not you're better off having the dealer walk you through fixing the problem and how knowledgeable they are is critical to how successful this is. Parts availability is also important - doesn't matter if they sell you a machine at a great price if they can't provide needed parts.

Of course if you never have a problem with it then the warranty doesn't matter, but that's not a risk I'd be willing to take when purchasing an expensive machine.

Thanks everyone-Would the length of the warranty especially a shorter labor length of only 90 Days concern you ?

A labor warranty is relative to the shipping cost and the difficulty of the job (and the owner's ability to complete it on their own). There is also the risk of shipping damage as well.

A warranty is frikkin' critical when you need it and unnecessary when you don't.

The lack of useful information contained in that great truth is the reason the question needs more context for an answer.

• Which machines and dealers are you talking about specifically?
• Where are you located?

BDL

Bezzera Mitica 1 yr parts 90 day labor warranty, or ECM techinica Pro 1yr labor and 1yr parts both machines from 1st Line in NJ, i am in West Texas.