Sure, my point is that even on those high-end items, even if you can't fix them yourself, there may be local resources or knowledge on how to help without the expectation that the manufacturer is held responsible or takes on the burden to support a second or third or found on the side of the road, item.

This is not to say they won't. Some do help as much as possible and may even guide you to a local resource. La Marzocco did so recently with me. It saved me from having to ship my machine and introduced me to a local group that I know will use LM parts as my machine is out of warranty, saving me the headache of trying to ship it to Seattle.

Agreed, but given the bespoke nature of some of these grinders and their--I hesitate to use this word--cultish following and discussion of their unique tolerances, etc. wouldn't the ideal person/people to repair them be the manufacturers themselves? Moreover, there is this assumption that extending service is an unprofitable activity. I think Best Buy makes quite a bit of money offering extended warranties. In fact, the better made a product is, the more lucrative it is to offer an extended, preferably transferable to second buyers, service contract for that product. A well-made grinder should rarely need to be repaired, which means if these manufacturers truly believed in their grinders why not sell an extended transferable warranty for those who want it for an extra $100 or so? I bet you in the case of a company like Kafatek or Weber, given their devoted fan base, buyers would willingly pay extra for such an extended warranty. The manufacturer makes more money, and the buyer can sleep easier at night knowing their grinder will be repaired by the skilled craftspeople who made it if it fails. All of that said, I would like to know which of the aformentioned premier makers offers the best service? I've seen a post, I think but I'm not sure, that Versalab has some of the best service on taking used grinders back for repair. Finally, I would like to remark on the humor of finding a used Versalab or Monolith "on the side of the road." Wouldn't that be nice?

I also don't see LWW having any problem with repairing a second-hand grinder out of warranty. They're very helpfull with everything you aks them about the grinder and give great support. Although the grinders are built very well and should last a long time. And if anything on my EG-1 should ever break it's the control box and with the V1 can just order a new one and don't have so sent the grinder across the world. The rest of the grinder should last a very very long time.

I've been told that when you purchase from a boutique grinder manufacturer you're at their mercy as far as support goes. It's important to consider their track record before laying down that kind of cash.

The big problem with this is they're ALL not long enough around to be able to predict if they'll still be around in 10 years. And you need about 10 years to be able to say anything sensible about it. So if that's what you think you should avoid all of them for the next 10 years and just buy a MK or Mazzer. Or like many here have faith and trust in the manufacturers or else we'll never have better products and innovation as the major manufacturers don't really do this.

I can't bother with a company who hasn't updated their Geocities web page in 10 years.

You should taste the coffee though! Haha