pcrussell50 wrote:I can't help you there, but in the USA they seem to be perpetually out of refurbs. At least factory refurbs. When people pay for off warranty repairs that are more involved that simple o-rings they often get brand new machines.

-Peter

Decided to bite the proverbial bullet. It appears Canadian prices are actually better than us prices on Breville so I can't complain much. Would have loved getting one used as a grand is a bit dizzying to me. Got a niche zero on order too. I'm cutting up my credit cards after this.

Now I got just figure out which generation the various vendors stock so I can ensure I get the updated non o ring style.

DaddyTaxes wrote: Now I got just figure out which generation the various vendors stock so I can ensure I get the updated non o ring style.

The build date is in the first four digits of the serial number. Two digits are the year, and two are the week of that year it was built.

The two most consequential updates I know about are:

1) o-ring-free boiler tops
This seems to have come out in early 2018

Note: This does not mean the entire machine is o-ring-free. Just the parts that typically develop leaks every couple of years. Though, on the old style machines, the o-rings that commonly leak are extraordinarily easy to change. Something to keep in mind: If a leak develops with the new scheme, we do not yet know how to fix it.



2) quick change group inserts
This seems to have appeared in mid-late 2017

Note: This is identified by the presence of four screws around the thick downward facing rim of the group assembly. Not everyone seems to wear out their group collar. It appears to be related to how aggressively you lock in your portafilter or how old your machine is. Anyway, with the old design it was a large repair job to replace and Breville stopped making the old style collar. If you have an old style design and it leaks, they will probably send you a whole new machine if you send in for repair.

Nothing has changed in the brew path regarding how it performs as an espresso maker. The very oldest -900 makes just as good espresso as the newest -920.

-Peter

DaddyTaxes wrote:Please oh please wise deal finder, can you point me in the direction of this refurbished Breville product source? I too am in CanadaLand.

Mihir - I am actually living abroad at the moment, and bought a 240v machine. I got a deal on what was described as a 'light scratches' SAGE Dual Boiler from an eBay seller that is also their official service center in Germany (https://www.ebay.ca/sch/service_windhorn/m.html). They don't seem to have anything listed currently unfortunately. In Canada there is also https://www.ebay.ca/sch/brevilleauthori ... let/m.html but they also don't have anything listed currently. Your best bet might to drive down into a US city (if you're close) and pick one up using a discount coupon from Williams Sonoma? If you do want to buy new, BestBuy seems to have decent prices https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/br ... l/10389762

So, in order to arm myself with information prior to making any purchases, I contacted Breville Canada. The information I collected is disheartening. Breville's Canadian service centre(s) no longer provide services for their espresso equipment. Services are all done in he states. While this in and of itself isn't an issue, I've previously been charged import fees for repaired items being sent back to me (this is a problem with our tax collection agency being greedy af.)

This plus the 3 week quoted lead time on service has made me pause and seriously reconsider the merits of going this route.

That's terrible.

If it can be used as a data point, I only needed* Breville service once, since Fall 2011. That was spring 2018. Any other attentions my machine needed were simple DIY level things.

* by needed, I mean a service issue that was not simple and straightforward. And because of that, they sent me a brand new machine. I don't think their service centers like big jobs either. They just send out replacements.

-Peter

Yes this is the main reason I am still in the stage of reconsidering. I am mechanically minded so diy repairs aren't an issue, but in the off chance something major goes wrong, I'd rather not pay $375 to Breville PLUS around $200 in import fees and tax. That's half the price of the unit XD. Considering nothing else short of a linea mini is really calling to me, I'm thinking I should just go for the bdb and hope for the best.

Horrible.

You have decisions to wrestle with of course.

But you didn't ask what the problem was with my machine that caused me to send it back off warranty after six years? But I'll tell you anyway. It stopped pre infusing. It was still working perfectly well in normal modes like a million other espresso machines out there, but one of the best things about the BDB is the pre infusion and that was the part that stopped working for me. I think a capacitor on the main board leaked. Because sometimes pre infusion worked and sometimes it didn't, until eventually it would not work at all. I swapped out the pump ($27 delivered Amazon), and that didn't fix the problem either. So apparently Breville didn't want to fix it any more than I did, and they sent me a brand new machine. That was summer 2018.

-Peter

I do think I'm just going to have to concede the convenience of local repairs and get the machine. Given how simple most repairs tend to be I'm thinking I can manage not to wreck it too soon.
Did a fair bit of research into a couple e61 Hx machines, and repairs for those are similar to this; most are user friendly repairs, but if you need proper service or repairs most (local) service centres have 2 week lead times anyways.
Those e61 machines sure are spiffy and sparkly though

Would the Baratza Sette 270 be a good grinder to pair with this machine? Any other recommendations.

I'm also located in Canada (Ontario specifically). How are you calculating the taxes/duties that would be charged? Is it based on the original value of the machine as opposed to the cost of the repair? Also, I've successfully fought charges in the past. It's a pain but would it be possible to show that the item had already started out in Canada before being sent out for repairs?

I mean for sure, but I would prefer NOT to worry about stupid import fees than spend a couple of hours filling out forms and putting together documentation to prove something that the government is already aware of. Warrantied items are always labelled as such in the import forms that the company files before sending the items back...

Either way, I'm currently calling all the authorized dealers to see if any of them provide their own inhouse warranty that i can add to the breville warranty for some peace of mind.