In one of these topics, I saw a mention of sending your Olympia Cremina to Thomas Cara for repairs on the West Coast. I spoke with Christopher today, and he prefers not to work on these machines (long story, not worth others bugging him for it). He gave me the names of two other shops, one of which I will use in a couple of weeks. I'll report my experience here.

For those of us who don't have time to do our own, or who are mechanically challenged, finding a good repair shop for Creminas has been challenging. In the San Francisco Bay Area I've used one shop that charged me for a gasket replacement they didn't do, and another that held my machine for three years (I **** you not), until I finally guilt-tripped him into finishing it. The other day it suddenly shut down while I was pulling the morning shot for my wife, and pushing the reset button resulted in the button sticking in the up position. I took the base plate off and discovered that the button was pushing against... nothing. It appears that the bottom of the boiler was bolted on one bolt clockwise from its correct position, so the reset button doesn't hit the reset tab. Some other things look wrong, too, including spade lugs on the wiring that look overheated. Fortunately the machina began working again (che sa?), but it's time for a shop visit.

Has anyone had better repair experiences?

Hello again,

Most of us have supplied the information need to help you fix you machine with the help of this site. I have personally visited a shop in Seattle that repairs Olympias. It is called Home Espresso Repair. The owner Will is a wonderful guy

Visit their very basic website here http://www.espressorepair.com/pages/852885/index.htm Not alot of info- just what they can do and a offer to contact them. Will spends alot of time working on machines ( with his staff) and is a little slow about email- sometimes fast sometimes it takes a day or so) But HE LOVES LEVER MACHINES!!

They are great to talk to on the phone as well. Every time I have dropped by their store there is a pile of machines waiting for the UPS driver!! Will is honest, pleasant and capable. A quaint no fuss shop. Good luck in finding something closer. At least you have a Plan B........

CreminaHead wrote: For those of us who don't have time to do our own, or who are mechanically challenged,

This site has an impressive bunch of owners who do amazing work fixing and restoring their machines. They make it sound so tempting and easy to do. There's no doubt in my mind if we worked on our machines and asked for help there would be people here to guide us. But I'm not up to that yet. Probable lack of skills and definite lack of confidence. I'm too afraid to start messing with a machine I've had for 23 years and use daily. I'd rather rely on specialized help from acknowledged experts.

Has anyone had better repair experiences?

Yes. I have no reservations recommending http://www.1st-line.com in Hazlett NJ. They are authorized Olympia dealers, know Creminas, and have fixed and maintained my machine for years.

Some parts may be hard to come by - I had to wait a few weeks while Jim waited for a sight glass and gaskets to replace my old one - but otherwise I've received quick turnaround on his repair work.

I was informed by 1st-Line back in March that they don't service Creminas over 10 years old. "The reason is that they become very difficult to repair."
Regards
Timo

Second the recommendation of Home Espresso Repair in Seattle. They are a "straight up" shop and do lots of Cremina repairs so they are very familiar with them.

I have my Olympia Coffex (sorry, not a lever model) out for repair to a shop in NYC. Will post an update when I get it back.

Thanks to all who suggested repair shops. I think compiling a list here would be valuable for many readers, saving us much shopping around, and keeping us from annoying those repair people who prefer not to work on our machines. In that regard, I hope we'll keep this thread going.

The info posted on this site is really excellent, and bits and pieces (many unexpected) have enriched my coffee experience. Still, some of us just don't have the time to tear into a machine because, as you engineers know, the steepest part of the learning curve is at the beginning. I do regular maintenance on my Creminas and Rocky, but when one goes down I know that it will take me multiple attempts to fix, with a reasonable probability of getting something wrong. In those cases, I'd rather pay someone who is very familiar with the machine and who likes working on them.

1st Line's Web site says they only repair machines which they had sold, which leaves me out.

I found a shop in San Rafael, CA which says they can work on the Cremina. The repair guy was on vacation this week, so I will be taking the Cremina to him in a few days. I will report here on his performance.

Thanks again to those who've posted.

CreminaHead