Buying a La Valentina second hand

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
PierreBCN
Posts: 1
Joined: 8 years ago

#1: Post by PierreBCN »

Hi all,

I'm a newbie here. Great forum with lots of useful information by the way.

My knowledge of coffee and brewing methods is still quite limited. Recently I have gone though some type of revelation about coffee, discovering all the amazing possibilities outside of pre-packaged supermarket "stuff".

I have bought myself a decent drip coffee machine and a nice looking (although huge) Mazzer grinder. I bought a drip coffee machine first because that's the type of coffee I'm used to and most often have.

Anyways, I'm ready for my first real espresso machine now!

I can purchase a well maintained semi automatic La Valentina for not too much money locally (450€) . I've read the buyer's guide and pretty much all the comments on the site. On paper, it seems perfect for what I'm looking for. It is a Hx, has an E61 group, has a small footprint, it's decent looking, robustly made with top quality components and has a powerful steam (I like milk based drinks). Most importantly, it apparently makes a good cup reliably!

Before pulling the trigger, I'd like some input form current and previous owners. Do you think it is still competitive nowadays? Is it a good second-hand buy?

I'd like to get some more recent feedback as I suspect the buyer's guide, and most reviews I've found as a matter of fact, are quite old.

Many thanks in advance for your help and input.

Regards,