Companies have combined or changed in ownership. I don't know the specific details but what I've read in passing questions production and quality control. Then there's the farming out of parts and production. Bellezza has lower priced machines that are chinese built. Bezzera is one of the few companies that is said to still produce parts and build their machines in house. Bezzera uses some simple engineering common to more than one of their designs and cheaper parts like vibe pumps and mater pressurestats to keep price down. Lelit keeps is prices down at least with the Bianca by using a less expensive shell from what I've read. If you're not sure about a machine good espresso vendors are usually honest about the machines they trust if you ask them.

Since, AFAIK, most E61 machine parts are standard and common, cutting corners in design and manufacturing isn't a big compromise to overall product quality as long as there's quality where it matters. Shipping can be brutal and if I get a machine with problems that end up being minor like leaks that are fixed with just a bit of re tightening that's ok for me as long as everything else is solid engineered and built.

mrgnomer wrote:Knowing what I know now if I were getting into serious semi automatic espresso extraction I'd favour a used working E61 HX with a rotary pump for plumb in potential. Pair it with an old commercial grinder at a good price like a Super Jolly and there's a set up you can grow into. Use the savings from new for good burrs, parts replacement and mods like E61 flow control on the machine.

This statement above from mrgnomer nailed it right on the head. For anyone getting past the "just getting into it" phase all they need is what is said above. I have gone down the grinder path and the lever path but I just am unable to upgrade my Vetrano HX from 2007. I am very in touch with it and know exactly how to get the best and worst out of it. And everything can be fixed and is replaceable.

Last year my daughter contacted me and said she was ready to get into espresso and before she knew it, I had located a used Silvia and a 20 year old Cimbali Junior grinder. If she wants to go to the next step then I will help her find a used E61 HX.

I remember 20 years ago going into a bakery and seeing an unused Super Jolly covered in sticky stuff and everything else possible in a bakery. i would ask the owner every couple weeks if he would sell it. I eventually started coming in with cash (pre Venmo times) and ask. He finally relented. It just needed a lot of cleaning and new burrs and then I had a top quality grinder for a couple hundred.

Thank you all once again for your kind and detailed replies - this has been super useful and helped me narrow down my search substantially. In the end I ended up (just) buying this machine, an Isomac Zaffiro that was going for £300 and therefore - in my eyes - as good as a bargain as they get... https://www.ebay.it/itm/235020786739

I'll let people know how its use works out. Very excited. Thanks again!

That's a very good price for a good E61. Needing to do repairs is also fun and you'll gain a lot of knowledge about how espresso machines work. It's pretty easy and when you finally buy another machine in a couple of years you're already pretty good at doing maintenance which can save you a lot of money. Just enjoy the journey.