Help identifying an espresso machine

I made a comment in the buy sell or trade spot, but I hope Chris wont mind a similar double post.

I am contemplating picking up a Bezzera Espresso machine here locally, that I found on craigslist. It is used, the seller had picked it up at an estate sale, and has no knowledge of how they work. He said that when he plugs it in, and flips one switch, the pump comes on (noisy), and the other main switch on the right does nothing when pressed.

What I'm trying to figure out, is what model this is, is it any good (when in proper functional status) and whether or not I can get something like this serviced in the Bay area.

I would think that I could, seeing how popular coffee and espresso drinks are around here, but I'm not sure.

If anyone with knowledge about this stuff can throw me a line, I'd be very grateful. I'm brand new to coffeegeek, and I don't want to come across whiny on there, cause no one has responded yet. After looking thru most of that forum, its pretty clear that almost every topic takes a couple hundred views just to get two or three responses. I figured here, people jump in a bit quicker.

Photo's deleted.


Thanks again.

IF you don't get a response, contact the folks at 1st Line.

Wish I was more help, but I know how you feel. I see a lot of espresso machines on CL that people have come across and and don't know anything about. Until the day I hit the lotto, I'm pretty much in the used Gaggia or Saeco/Barista spectrum.
Find a reputable repair center in your area and inquire about parts availability, service etc. If you are handy, and can get a parts diagram and try descaling, cleaning the boiler and filters etc and maybe get it going. I seem to get fast and good advice from any CoffeeGeek posts, but some people prefer to offer advice offline, so you might want to include an E-mail address in your user CP. Good Luck!

Thank you guys, for the tips. I'm kinda scratching my head right now. Not sure if I want to jump in to something that turns into an expensive headache. I imagine, with time I can find a place that can service them. I just want to figure out some basic details of their equiptment. I doubt emailing the company with a pic of an old machine will do much, they are going to be a bit more interested in selling new products. Unless they have an internal service dept.

I believe they do; moreover they've always been helpful.

I'll keep my fingers crossed. I just fired of an email with the few pics I have of it.

I of course dont want to miss out on a good chance to get a good machine at a bargain. The guy is only asking $100, and doesn't know a thing about espresso machines. So it could be worth a good deal more if it works.

I bought a Mazzer Super Jolly on ebay. I know they are great machines but I will reserve judgement till it arrives.

Thanks again guys for your help. I will keep you posted on any updates.

Too late... I called him, and he told me it sold today. I thanked him and hung up.

A minute later he calls me back and said, hey, you're not missing out on anything. It was broken in several places, and not working.

The good news is, I found someone who services commercial and prosumer espresso machines here in the bay area. Believe it or not, the guy has a shop less than 5 blocks away from my house!

He quoted me $100 an hour for his work. He said that $100 is a great price for a Bezzera, but I could easily get in over my head with something that is going to be more expensive to repair than it might be worth.

So the search continues....

My grinder will be showing up in a few days. Gotta find something soon.

I realize that you do not need the help now, but the good folks over at coffeegeek are often able to identify machines/grinders etc. Good luck with your quest...it is the hunt which is part of the fun...plus you will never go to $tarbuck$ again "The lines are long, but it's expensive"