Gaggia New Classic Pro Stainless Steel Coffee Machine 886938003530 $710 Boxing Day (Week?) deal at Appliances Online. Checked 27 Dec and still on - does anyone know of any large Gaggia stockist offering price beat (not match)? I'm tempted though it's not as good as the previous Costco deals!
$30 off $300+ spend for You and Your Friend (New Customers).
Repairability and durability is the main reason you'd go the Gaggia over throwing out a Breville/Sunbeam every 4-5 years.
Bdb has one of the largest self repair markets in Australia, as someone who has opened both they are very comparable in repairability/quality with the bdb having more parts available here.
I’ve had a BDB since August 2015 and it’s still running strong. Had it serviced a couple of times under warranty. Recently I’ve descaled it myself using citric acid + water, and I’ve had to replace the solenoid myself once. I’m not much of a handyman but it was fairly straightforward.
These things last. I clean it often and look after it well. The first things to go are usually the seals - so if you replace them prophetically, you should be okay.
I mean having to have it serviced under warranty twice and having to replace a solenoid in the first 8 years isn’t really the durability that we are talking about here.
I can’t talk to the gaggia but I’ve had a Rancilio for the past 10 years and it’s never been serviced or needed a repair. Clean it every now and then and it still runs as well as it has on day 1. The Gaggia are supposed to be similar.
The Breville will make a great cup of coffee but they are not in the same league for durability.
@stratbargain: Servicing was not because it was broken but just to take advantage of the cover under warranty. There’s lots of parts availability.
It’s also like $800 on sale during pre-Covid pricing, or starting to come down to that about now. For the feature set you get, there’s nothing better at that price. The Breville hasn’t been updated in a long time but I recall it has better features than the Rancilo Gaggia. Dual boiler, adjustable preinfusion, volumetrics. The standard basket is laser cut and not bad.
The sad reality is, if it breaks down more than you can fix yourself, it’s generally cheaper to just buy a new one with ACL guarantees rather than get it repaired or serviced out of warranty.
@ATTS: Too much. I had it done outside of warranty once in July 2019 and we paid about $720 for 2x machines. My brother’s machine had a serious leaking issue with the boiler (we think) and the quote for repairs was about $500 if I recall correctly.
So as not to contribute to the waste economy, I got a quote to get mine prophylactically serviced as well, and it was $720 to get both done, which we agreed to.
Prices have probably increased since Covid etc.
This was @ Direct Coffee Supplies, Bibra Lake, WA.
@ts13: Woah thats expensive, thanks
You also Said below, so does that mean servicing was free during warranty period?
Servicing was not because it was broken but just to take advantage of the cover under warranty.
@ATTS: Yes. I recall I had it serviced at least twice under warranty period, free of charge. I think it was at the same place. Iirc, you need to look for authorised breville service people in your area and provide a receipt or something.
I can’t recall if I had to drop off and pick up or if they came to pick it up for me. I just picked the one in my area with the best reviews / closest (none of them were close).
This would’ve been before 2017 I think, so a long time ago.
@ts13: Oh i see thanks
Oh i think i remember, was it you that had it serviced at hornsby?
I think they said service under warranty was once a year? Is that right?
You mean recipt from the coffee machine retailer?
@ATTS: No. I’m WA based. But yes, I recall it was a service once a year under warranty.
Not sure if you required receipt or just a serial number.
@stratbargain: My circa 15 year old Classic is going strong. Smashes out between 2 and 4 coffees a day. Done a few repairs over the years and service it myself about once a year. Steam wand is rubbish even with an upgrade. Parts readily available. Sorry can’t comment on the Breville but a mate has the Sylvia which is about as old as my Gaggia and it’s also super reliable (and froths milk beautifully)
@agpanoz: I need to double check, but i dont think i notice the pre infusion pressure guage move when i make my coffee in the bdb
if you replace them prophetically
Somehow this stands in for prophylactic and retains your intent
What seals were you referring too?
Did you mean the o rings which were removed from 2022 onwards from the design?
@ATTS: Yeah, the O-ring which sits above the shower screen. I didn’t know it was removed. How do they maintain a seal between the portafilter and the group then?
I am good at making coffee. But I’ve always confessed that I know very little about how espresso machines work lol.
@ts13: Im not sure about how they seal the portafilter and group but from 28th week 2022 people are saying they removed the o ring from deaign. I knew it from someone on ozbargain. They said it dramatically improved reliability i think
LOL, i dont know much about coffee machine aswell. I juat drink coffee and know i like strong coffee to wake me up LOL
To be clear, I'm talking about 20 years of durability and something you can repair in 5 minutes. Not 5 hours.
The BDB is a great machine but there's a lot of plastic in there that cracks under the heat and a lot of parts that rust over time. Getting in there is a dog of a job, I've had one.
The Gaggia is simple and designed for access. They are hand assembled.
i wouldn't say throw out, i have mine for 6 years, and actually have been waiting for it to break so i have an excuse to buy an italian espresso machine. im just going to get italian pretty much to show it off when i have guest over, but absolutely nothing wrong with a breville. i would get a breville again, but im to vain, so i need an expensive talking piece for my guest to be fond and jealous of.
I've had the Oracle for 2 years, had to return it twice for warranty issues and now looks like the group head rubber seal needs replacing. I really do wonder if it will last more than 5 years… I have a filter but I live in the Perth CBD, I think the hard water isn't doing me any favours.
Next time I'll probably go for a nice Italian brand, only thing is I really like the auto milk frother on the Oracle, I'm guessing not many machines offer that.
The Oracle only cost me about $800 though, so can't really complain.
No doubt, the BDB is a good machine. I have experience with one and it's lots of bang for your buck If you factor longevity, the tables are turned.
Yes! Enslave yourself to the cult of cleaning tablets and water filter pouches!
What?
It's a water tank, you can use whatever water you want, literally the same process that you will have to use for any coffee machine.
As for the "cleaning tablets" they are literally just pre portioned cafetto tablets. You can buy a kilo (literally a lifetime worth) of powder for 30$ on Amazon.
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/breville-charcoal-water-filt…
I mean with Breville you gotta buy these things. Pouches and Tablets.
With proper machines you can rock a kilo of powder and recharge your filters with pure salt.
@Bunnyburger: With proper machine (same with the bdb) you should use proper water as it will increase the longevity of the machine. A water filter will only do so much to stop buildup. Most "expensive" machines don't even have an option for water filters.
I don't feel like you know what you are talking
@Jofzar: Most expensive machines are plumbed into the mains water supply which typically have a RO filtration system incorporating an end stage remineralizer.
I recharge my water softener in a saline solution like this, it costs me 5 cents - https://www.1st-line.com/technical-support/general-maintenan…
Or do you want to buy https://www.harveynorman.com.au/breville-charcoal-water-filt… for the rest of your Brevilled life? The cost adds up and gradually eats away the value for money Breville machines are known for.
Which buildup are you referring to…coffee or residue buildup in the grouphead area which is dealt with through backflushing with a blind portafilter? or limescale buildup within the boiler which is dealt with through a descale? Two very different things.
@miicah: I'm talking about replenishing the water softening capabilities of the water filter with salt water.
https://www.zcafe.ca/site/CMS.aspx?ID=Resin+water+filter+rec…
What? The Breville secret police show up if you put citric acid in the tank?
Yep. From an international perspective the Gaggia is on the same level as the Bambino, and the Dual Boiler the same level as Rancilio, etc. at 1500 USD. Crazy fortunate. Can’t speak to longevity claims, but I heard that Breville is good with repairs/replacement.
Some dark part of me makes me feel that Breville products are just a bit normie and I'd rather have a harder time producing equivalent coffee as long as I felt better than other people.
Maybe elitism tastes good?
The bdb let's you slayer mod, easily adjust water temperature (and have a stable temperature), change pre infusion time and strength.
Its definitely the more coffee elitist machine of the two, way more options for dialing in the coffee.
Look at the Gagguino mod… Can't top that.
Adjustable and graphic representation of Everything!
I've got a Breville Barista Express…some pure design stupidity in that machine..but I got it for nothing. Will probably go a Gagguino one day.
I don't think many coffee elitist would be rocking a bdb.
Don't get me wrong great machine for the price and features you get, but it's not an elite device by any stretch.
It's the Hyundai of the coffee world. And I say that as a Hyundai driver.
@stratbargain: They might not rock a bdb but they'd pick it over a random Italian machine that didn't perform as well for similar cost. Go check out any coffee YouTuber, they all love them.
I think the only reason not to get the BDB is if you really cannot fit it on your bench top. The Gaggia is a fair bit smaller, and I would say that's about the only + is has over the BDB.
Unless of course you're a bit of a tinkerer and enjoy modding things, then I guess the Gaggia might have another + seeing as there are so many mods available.
For anyone wondering, to get a pre-soldered, flashed gagguino kit & a set of 3d printed parts to install everything nicely, you're looking at about $350 (can be much cheaper if you buy everything individually and build it yourself), which makes the gaggia cost more than a BDB. I've done this and it's fun, but for anyone just wanting a machine they can plug in and use, I think the BDB offers a lot more for only a bit more $$
Edit: the gagguino kit gives you things like flow control, temperature control, improved steam wand pressure, water tank empty warning, does by weight, shot profiling, maybe more but I haven't got into the weeds with it yet.
Hi @lyle88
Where did you get the kit for your mod? I am not too handy but keen to mod mine
I agree, it's just terrible value unless you're on the gaggiuino train.
Also on a side note, preferring another product to the one posted doesn't justify a neg vote. Unless you can find another GCP for cheaper, you should probably remove the neg
I revoked it, I still believe that this is a bad deal masquerading as a good deal, the Gaggia is expensive in Australia and the bdb is significantly cheaper here while every other country is the opposite.
Came in to say this. The DB is so cheap in Australia and overseas its priced up there with the more premium/prosumer machines.
every time i see the name Gaggia, I think giggidy :D
Do you mean this one? it's expired. I am bad at search deals, didn't find a newer one. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/820293
But it looks like an appliance.
As a happy owner of this model, something to share:
- Modding the pressure spring (I prefer 9 bar) isn’t that hard and the result is definitely worth it.
- This model has an aluminium boiler, do not descale too often, once a year is more than enough.
- Even that you are told that your area’s water is softer than usual, use filter water to avoid magnesium and calcium built up
I have Rancilio Sylvia and use Melbourne (i.e. soft), filtered water. I do not have to descale often as a result.
How do you know if you need to descale or not?
Depends where you live, do you have hard water or soft water ?
Does your kettle slowly fill with a white crust ?
you need to investigate your water supply first. As the machine won't tell you when is the time to descale, you will have to take action yourself.
If you live somewhere where you've literally never seen scale in an appliance, you probably don't need to descale.
Some places (e.g. most of NSW, Victoria), the water is so soft that scale is a non-issue.
The water here in Newcastle is so soft it may as well be a descaler itself. Scale is literally not a thing. I've never seen scale in my kettle or in my bathroom.
In other places (e.g. most of SA, WA), scale builds up quickly in kettles and needs to be cleaned out constantly.
I lived in California for a while, and the kettle would build up with a huge layer of limescale after being boiled two or three times. It was crazy. That's when I realised why limescale is such a big issue - I'd never seen it in NSW at all.
Melbourne has soft water? Damn. Perth CBD is so bad it's got actual chunks of metal floating around in there.
Totally agree with the last point. I use the water filter and jug from Brita in the last 2 years for my DBD and didn't do any descale. Checked the boilers with a camera and cannot see any scale.
Is 9bar the usual upgrade?
Where did you get the spring in Australia?
Ty
Got it here: https://www.shadesofcoffee.co.uk/gaggia-classic-opv-spring-m…
9 Bar works for me, some suggested 6 bar is the best
All the best!
Cheers
What improvements does this new classic pro has over the classic pro which is quite a bit cheaper?
When the Breville dual Boiler only sales for $890, Gaggia classic pro with this price wouldn't be very competitive, especially not being an EVO and still just a Pro.
So is the "new" classic pro the same as the "classic pro" which sold <$500 about 1 year ago?
Yeah, they're almost exactly the same. I bought one a few years ago for $500+ . It was on sale at Costco this year for $300+. Now I am using the Profitec, but couldn't resist buying the 920 the other day, the price was just too good.
OP could you please confirm how this is a bargain? Up until 1.5 years ago this was priced around $570 on appliances online. How do I know that? I bought one. I guess the increase is from inflation?
Also I think this does a better shot than the Breville DB but the downside is it's a bit more tedious to figure out how to get a good shot and also I find the steam wand better on the Breville.
I would say stock the BDB has a better shot. Gaggia needs mods to outperform the BDB.
Even without mods after getting accustomed to the temp surfingI get a better shot from the gaggia than the bdb IMO. I use both semi regularly. Both are good anyway for the price but personally I'd rather save and spend the spare cash on a better grinder where you would see more bang for buck. That's also because I don't mind the learning curve and don't use the steam wand often.
Yeah purely on the inflation rate it should be 650ish but… if it's comparable to the bdb which is selling for a grand now can you blame them for putting up the price?
Don't feel it's worth a neg but.. Yeah
Edit: AUD has also de-valued by over 10% since this time last year…so this is about as close to last year's price as you could really expect it to be.
This makes sense I just wanted to query the ~24% price increase. The price I mentioned was fairly stable before that for several years.
Up until 1.5 years ago
Answered your own question.
Nothing ever changes. lol
It's a bargain (accoring to OzB guidlines) because it's the cheapest currently available for this specific product. Unless you have a time machine, past prices are of no use.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/help:voting_guidelines
I saw a pre fab Arduino add on for these. Gives a LCD making things visually adjustable. Then also plots flow rates / pressure etc so you can see exactly where your brew is at throughout the shot. I was looking at a used machine..$200 ish.
I'm looking to get one of these too for that reason. The gaggiuino project looks awesome to get a budget decent DE1 for ~1k AUD. https://gaggiuino.github.io/#/?id=home
Pair this with a eureka Mignon specialita and you got a great combo
These are light cheap and tinny I have no idea why they’re so rated. Plastic parts, pressurised baskets.
They are simple, well built and easy to modify.
Basically the Land Cruiser Troopy of coffee machines.
These things turn into $2k equivalent machines with a few mods.
They are easily modded, maintainable and has a huge community for support. Yes, the tamp is cheap crap, you need to buy a better one. There's no need to use pressurised baskets, I've never used one.
If you want a coffee machine that you take out of the box and just use, get a Breville. If you want to tinker, spend some time and money to add features, this is an amazing machine. Different use cases.
The only time I've used my pressurised basket was this Christmas when I took my machine to my families place and they only wanted to use pre-ground coffee. For their sake I swapped in the pressurised basket.
Guys what’s a good repairable Italian machine up to 2k if you had to get for yourself. And if you had to go second hand what would you be looking for if you was me.
Use case.
2 milk coffee at a time. Up to 6 a day.
Tia.
For 2 milk drinks at a time you'll have to look for a dual boiler, but an Italian dual boilers start around 3k.
The Breville dual boiler is amazing and when on sale is well under 1k, which leaves plenty of budget for a grinder.
If you don't mind repairs then get yourself a second hand commercial 2 group. I bought a Wega compact when my daughter was born, she is now 13 and I'm still smashing out coffees.
Buy it, strip it and clean & check everything, repair/replace parts as required, repeat every 5 years.
I remember getting it for like 350 back some years ago, time flies ! good machine, simple effective and can maintain / repair as well - still going strong !
Guys I thought I was doing something nice for the community after having used this website every now and then.
This is the first deal I post. It’s just a deal, as in: this is the cheapest price around by a considerable margin and only for a limited time.
I’m not interested in discussing coffee machine preferences… If you find a deal of your favourite appliance please make sure you post it
But you unwittingly released the coffee nerds! I include myself in that group btw.
Well done for posting a deal, there's always naysayers in comments. Judge your deal by the likes, not the the comments.
Guys I thought I was doing something nice for the community
That's exactly what you did, thanks 👍
I’m not interested in discussing coffee machine preferences
Then what are you posting in this thread for ?! Discussion about the deal subject is the whole point of the comments 🤷🏼♂️ If you don't want to read that, then don't read it !
Had Breville dual boiler and sold before traveling. Loved it but was too big. Now back and wanting to replace it with something smaller footprint (wife's orders). I already have a high quality manual grinder to pair with new machine.
I drink 2-3 cups a day most as long black (using aeropress type thing at the moment - was easy to travel with). Occasionally do a cap or latte for visitors or when I'm feeling like a treat but not a deal breaker. Just want a good double shot.
Any ideas for new or second hand. Happy to spend up to $1k.
not that a great of a deal, i would wait until costco puts it down to $399 - $499 like they do every few months or so.
IMO there is no point buying this when the Breville dual Boiler exists in Australia in the sub 1k market.
It is a significantly better machine that you don't have to mod to get the basic functionality.