Excellent value for the money. Take the plunge and buy one!
Positive Product Points
Price! You can pick one of these up on Ebay for less than $200 including shipping and a warranty! This thing makes excellent espresso (must be paired with decent grinder) and has tons of steaming power. Massive chrome plated brass portafilter. Easy to figure out.
Negative Product Points
Terrible ergonomics. In my opinion, this is what drives 75% of the negative reviews. To steam you must move the machine to the edge of the cupboard or use it right next to the sink in order to get a decent frothing pitcher underneath the steaming arm without spilling. Hideous looking, especially compared to the Francis Francis X1 that I used prior to this machine.
Detailed Commentary
I'll keep it short as a lot has already been written about the Carezza elsewhere. If you take a little bit of time to figure this machine out you can get excellent results. I pulled great shots the first night using a Capresso Infinity grinder. I made good microfoam within a day but it took some practice. If you remove the sleeve from the frothing wand and move the red gasket down one ring and then replace the sleeve, this machine can be used like a conventional steamer as opposed to a turbo frother. I haven't run out of steam frothing 14 ounces of milk to make decent microfoam. I had a terrible amount of trouble with the Francis Francis X1 that I used before this. For all of the bad rap that the X1 gets, it was a very good machine. However, I spent $220 getting it fixed in June and that lasted about 6 months. I "downgraded" to the Carezza because they are easy to repair and get parts for. This machine froths better than the X1 with the adjustment mentioned above and makes at least as good, if not superior, espresso shots. All in all a great way to make lattes.
Buying Experience
Bought from Whole Latte Love via Ebay. I've heard of WLL getting a bad rap for customer service and I feel this is unjustified. I'm certain that they make some mistakes but they offer unbelievable product selection and usually the best deals around apart from used machines from private owners. They mis-listed this machine as silver instead of white but we worked that out and they also promptly resolved another misunderstanding. I recommend them.