Should I buy a used espresso machine?

Espresso machines are mostly metal, and the parts that wear are cheap and replaceable. A ten year old machine with a serviced boiler and fresh gaskets can be functionally as good as new, which is why the used market is where the value lives. The catch is that the failure that actually kills machines, scale, is invisible from the outside.

Ask about water first and everything else second. A machine run on softened or bottled low-mineral water and descaled on schedule is a good buy. A machine run on hard tap water for years may have scaled boiler walls, blocked heating element surfaces and furred-up valves, and that is a repair bill rather than a bargain. If the seller cannot answer the water question, assume the worst and price accordingly.

Then inspect. Pull a shot and watch for leaks around the group, the portafilter and the base. Steam a jug of water and check that the wand delivers dry steam quickly and that the valve shuts fully without dripping. Look inside the water tank for mineral crust. Check the drip tray and the underside for corrosion or old leak trails. Lift the top panel if the seller allows: green corrosion on fittings and white crust are both bad signs.

Budget for a service pass regardless. A group gasket, a shower screen and a dispersion screen are inexpensive and transform how a used machine behaves, and they are the first thing a previous owner neglects. Add a descale if history is uncertain. Factoring roughly the cost of a nice dinner into every used purchase keeps the maths honest.

Two categories to be more careful with. Super-automatics have many more moving parts, brew groups that wear, and service costs that can exceed the value of the machine, so buy those used only from someone with receipts. And any machine from a brand with no parts availability is a bad used buy at any price, because the first failure ends it. Prefer machines with commercial 58 mm groups and a healthy parts ecosystem.