Beanusdemilo Senior Member Joined: 4 Feb 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Somewhere out west Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europicolla et al Grinder: German manual burr grinder
Posted Fri Apr 25, 2008, 4:22pm Subject: Starbucks Barista Italia Digital & Saeco Vienna Digital Repair
I have a Starbucks Barista Italia Digital which powers up and display reads "Need to Prime". I have tried the Starbucks manual instructions and have even tried manunally priming to no avail.
I also have a Saeco Vienna Digital which works great but leaks a little. I have seen gasket kit for this machine on eBay and wondered if your average guy with the proper tools and not much knowledge should even consider attempting a repair on his own.
Alternatively, since I am going to send the Barista in for repairs I may as well send both. I need opinions on the self-repair as well as information from any of you that have had good service from any repair shops on the West Coast. The closer to Reno the better.
I should also add that neither of the above machines are "users" per se and they were both given to me so I don't money tied up in them yet. as I have a La Pavoni Europicolla which I is my main source of caffeine.
Should I spend money on repairs and then sell on eBay or Craigslist, etc.
Would I be smarter to sell them as is?
Should I repair both or sell one as is and use the dough to repair the other one, and if so which should I keep?
Should I attempt to find a repair shop that will completely recondition each machine for a flat fee or from my description of the problems would I be better off requesting a specific repair only.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I apologize if this is in an inappropriate area of the forum. I searched for "repairs" and found no suggestions.
Beanusdemilo Senior Member Joined: 4 Feb 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Somewhere out west Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europicolla et al Grinder: German manual burr grinder
Posted Mon Apr 28, 2008, 6:40pm Subject: Re: Starbucks Barista Italia Digital & Saeco Vienna Digital Repair
Hi Dave,
Your answer seems a little odd due to the fact that I was given a quote of a $125.00 flat fee for repairs to each machine with a possible boiler replacement on the Vienna in which case the total would be $225.0 tops and maybe less. Those prices include complete R & R of the entire machine with a 6 month warrranty.
Even if shipping is $60.00 to 70.00 I would be looking at $420.00 total for both machines.
A Vienna digital sold last week for $299.99 with no warranty and a Buy It Now bid. My guess is that with a warranty it would sell for more. Two Starbucks Barista Italia Digitals with a 6 month warranty sold last week for $399.99 each.
If my math is correct my total expenditure to R&R these two machines including shipping will be $420.00 tops. Even if I only got the same amount as the aforementioned auctions it would be $600.00 and I am fairly sure that with a warranty I could squeeze another $50.00 to $75.00 out of them.
While the two machines may not be your cup of tea (or espresso) and they may not be the "ulitimate" in espresso making, it would seem to me that neither is "obsolete" as long as they make an espresso which will please somebody. I think they are both capable of accomplishing that feat. Granted I haven't tried an espresso made with the newest Saeco home automatic machine but my guess is that if either of these machines was working properly and you did a taste comparison between them and the newest models the average joe could not tell the difference all other things being equal. An espresso purist may be able to, but an espresso purist would not be using an automatic machine anyway!
I have not done the research but I am guessing that to purchase a new machine with similar features as the Barista Digital and Vienna digital you would need to spend at 1 large and possibly more. I am not a rocket scientist (or an espresso purist) but seems quite cost effective to spend 1/3 the dough and maybe less to get a very similar espresso experience.
I also feel strongly that if a lot more people spent a little bit to keep older yet usable machines running properly maybe our landfills would not be filling quite as rapidly, not to mention the energy saved by not having to produce two new machines.
To me it seems smart, cost-effective and the right thing to do.
While we obviously don't agree I thank you for your reply
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