opinions on a saeco incanto sbs espresso machine?

[cherrybomb]

i am looking at a saeco incanto sbs espresso machine at seattlecoffeegear.com for $480. It has been refurbished and some internal parts have been upgraded from plastic to metal...all good stuff it seems. retail seems to be about $800-900. Any opinions?

[mosesbotbol]

My cousin has a Saeco super automatic. Not sure which model as it is a few years old. They're actually not that hard to work on if you can get the parts. I can see how they would go to metal on some parts as it may be cheaper to use non-OEM.

As for the coffee, his has never been like a real manual espresso machine; somewhere in-between espresso and coffee with a crema. Quite nice and very common in Europe, but know what it is. I have never had a "perfect" espresso from any super automatic.

For ease of use and consistancy, I do like Saeco and they had one of the best cycling teams in the 1990's with Mario Cippolini.