Buying a used espresso machine

The one question that matters

Ask what water went into it, and when it was last descaled.

Limescale is what ends most home machines. It coats the heating element, blocks the narrow passages of the group and the solenoid valve, and eventually splits seams from the inside. A machine run for five years on soft filtered water and descaled yearly is barely worn. The same machine on hard tap water, never descaled, is a scrap part with a nice case.

A seller who answers precisely, names the filter and remembers the last descale, is telling you the machine was cared for. A vague answer is your price negotiation and often your reason to leave.

What to check, in order

1. Heat it up and pull water through the group. It should run clean and steady, not spit. A weak or noisy pump is replaceable, but it is a bargaining point.
2. Open the steam wand. Dry steam, decent pressure, and the valve should close without dripping.
3. Look inside the water tank. White crust or a slimy film both tell a story.
4. Take the shower screen off if the seller allows it. Caked coffee behind it means no one has cleaned it in years, and whatever that says about the screen it says about the rest.
5. Check the portafilter fits and locks near the centre. A handle that sits far past centre means a worn group gasket, which is a five euro part.
6. Ask for the model number and search for spare parts before you pay.

Cheap to fix, and not

Cheap and normal	Walk away
Group gasket, shower screen	Corroded or leaking boiler
Baskets, portafilter	Cracked boiler seam, water in the base
Pump, thermostat	Discontinued control board on an electronic machine
Steam valve seals	A brand with no spare parts channel
A full descale	Anything the seller cannot switch on

Machines that age well

Simple machines age best. A lever has no pump and no electronics to speak of. An E61 group is a fifty-year-old design with every part still on sale. A single boiler with a mechanical thermostat can be rebuilt on a kitchen table.

Superautomatics and bean to cup machines age worst: many moving parts, a brew group that wears, and firmware nobody supports after a decade.

Budget the first hundred euros

Whatever you pay, plan on a descale, a new group gasket, a new shower screen and a fresh basket before you judge the machine. Most second hand machines that “pull bad shots” pull good ones after that afternoon of work.