Gaggia Classic down to £219 on amazon...Its time!

murphyebass

So I finally pulled the trigger on a Gaggia Classic.

My Gaggia Evolution has stood me well for the past 18 months'ish but yeah its end is near/here already.

Under €280 isnt a bad price. I know I could have waited a bit longer to see would it fall further but I want a new machine for xmas and I'd followed it long enough.

I bought a Rancillo modified steam wand to go with it. Ya never know I might start drinking milk based coffees... doubt it. The missus will get nice milky drinks though.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MZA8OVU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Really need to get a blind filter, I never bothered with my evolution as it was 2nd hand and on the way out anyway but will want to keep the classic prestine!

Also few nicer cleaning brushes than I have and I think I'm all set with my new set up.

Oh need a nice new milk jug too to couple the new steam wand.

babybuilder

good luck on the Classic. Been keeping a close eye on the price. I reckon i might go for it if the price comes down a little bit more. They were at a ridiculous £ 129 last year

murphyebass

babybuilder wrote: »

good luck on the Classic. Been keeping a close eye on the price. I reckon i might go for it if the price comes down a little bit more. They were at a ridiculous £ 129 last year

Yeah I missed it then and can't wait any longer. Current machine on last legs. I'm happy enough with the price to be fair.
Got an email this morning from Amazon to say it's been dispatched so it looks like it will be here for Xmas. Yay

nc6000

babybuilder wrote: »

good luck on the Classic. Been keeping a close eye on the price. I reckon i might go for it if the price comes down a little bit more. They were at a ridiculous £ 129 last year

Were they as low as £129? :eek:

murphyebass

nc6000 wrote: »

Were they as low as £129? :eek:

Yup. There's a website called camelcamelcamel you can use to track the price.

If it went that low again I'd buy a second machine! Lol

Ernest

Amazon's price for the Gaggia Classic went UP just after Christmas 2014 from about £218 to something like £253. Adjust for their delivery charges and currency conversion and VAT differences plus their peculiar "Irish Customer Adjustment" that I usually find and the pre-Christmas price for Ireland was a bit over €300 - probably about €350 now.
I cancelled my plans to buy from Amazon but then i found (via PriceSpy website) that there is an Irish company called Sherwood based in Kilkenny that will deliver the product for €288. (www.sherwood.ie)

Planet X

Was also watching it from Christmas on only to see it rocket upwards.

Planet X

€296?

babybuilder

Where are the gaggia classics imported from? You would imagine that they would be getting less expensive on Amazon rather than more expensive as the euro is costing less these days.

Ernest

Like I said - you can get it from Sherwoods.ie for €288 delivered. I ordered one last Wednesday and it arrived on Friday morning. No need for Amazon on this one.

Planet X

£185 on Amazon. Might just buy this now.

€265 incl.P & P.

Planet X

Just bought from coffeeitalia.ie
38cm. high as opposed to 32cm. for original. You reckon it's a "New" machine in certain aspects?
Can't link. On phone.

Are they based in Dublin or UK because I phoned Dublin number and the guy picked up on second ring. 😁 Quick.....

vienne86

Planet X wrote: »

Just bought from coffeeitalia.ie
38cm. high as opposed to 32cm. for original. You reckon it's a "New" machine in certain aspects?
Can't link. On phone.

Are they based in Dublin or UK because I phoned Dublin number and the guy picked up on second ring. 😁 Quick.....

Friend of mine has one - quite a bulky machine all right, so you need space for it. Makes good coffee though!

Planet X

The new height will still fit on worktop under presses so I'm pretty OK.

cmac2009

Debating between gaggia and de'longhi magnifica for a new machine. Anyone owned both and have any advice?!

babybuilder

Planet X wrote: »

Just bought from coffeeitalia.ie
38cm. high as opposed to 32cm. for original. You reckon it's a "New" machine in certain aspects?
Can't link. On phone.

Are they based in Dublin or UK because I phoned Dublin number and the guy picked up on second ring. 😁 Quick.....

hi
I think this is the 2015 model which has no 3-way solenoid, so no back flushing and wetter pucks

heebusjeebus

Is it not worth getting the Gaggia Classic (2015) anymore?
Would the Baby Class be a better option?

I've currently got an Espresso Dose and it's great for what it does but I need to get a new filterholder due to sh1tty plastic parts. Maybe it's better to upgrade the machine?

Glebee

cmac2009 wrote: »

Debating between gaggia and de'longhi magnifica for a new machine. Anyone owned both and have any advice?!

Have the delonghi. Very good machine. Makes good espresso. Also good foam for milk based drinks. Bean to cup machine is very handy. No mess, no fuss. Just decent coffee.

Planet X

babybuilder wrote: »

hi
I think this is the 2015 model which has no 3-way solenoid, so no back flushing and wetter pucks

This good or bad? My first machine.

Planet X

Seems they've replaced it with a mechanical valve....
•The most controversial and difficult change to come to terms with on the Classic is the solonoid valve. Having said this, in the last 5 years Gaggia Classics have had a smaller solenoid valve which had a tendency to block, if you did not descale the machine very regularly or used water which was not filtered properly. This meant that the recent users of the Classics were more critical of the Classics in the past few years. Our engineers see this when we get them for a service. The proposal was that a mechanical valve is used on the new Classic instead of the solenoid valve and OPV. A big change for those who want to get into the mechanics of the machine. The idea of using the mechanical valve is not new. Gaggia has had mechanical valves in the Gaggia Selecta, Gaggia Coffee and the like and they perform as good as a Classic for extraction of coffee. The bonus with the mechanical valve is that it is much easier to clean by the user as it is an external part that can be removed and cleaned without opening up the machine and boiler. We said we have to test the new machine properly before agreeing to this change. We tested the samples for over 6 months and my engineers and I were convinced that it was performing exceptionally well. I have even done it against a professional Gaggia side by side and tested it at some of our barista training courses as well. Yes, the decision to change was accepted.

Planet X

Damn and double damn!! Just reading all the negative about Coffeeitalia.ie over the years on here.
Anybody have good dealings with them?
😱

Planet X

Arrived. No problems. Tracked it FedEx from Italy.
Just getting to grips with it this evening.
Espresso is a delight.
Having fun "trying" to make Cappuccino though. Frothing is too frothy initially.
Will get it after a few dozen no doubt!

New Tamper needed.

SuperGrover

Planet X wrote: »

Damn and double damn!! Just reading all the negative about Coffeeitalia.ie over the years on here.
Anybody have good dealings with them?
😱

You might have seen my posts on them from before, so. Fingers crossed you don't need any after sales service from them. That's where the fun begins.

flogen

That Sherwoods place currently has them for €295 - is that the best price you'll get at the minute?

Can't seem to see better online and not sure what other bricks and mortar shops still stock them.

Ernest

flogen wrote: »

That Sherwoods place currently has them for €295 - is that the best price you'll get at the minute?

Can't seem to see better online and not sure what other bricks and mortar shops still stock them.

See my earlier post (No 10) - I got one from Sherwoods a few weeks ago at €288 delivered within two days. The price seems to have gone up slightly it seems. I find the new machine to be excellent.

flogen

Ernest wrote: »

See my earlier post (No 10) - I got one from Sherwoods a few weeks ago at €288 delivered within two days. The price seems to have gone up slightly it seems. I find the new machine to be excellent.

Thanks - I suppose an extra €7 isn't going to make a huge difference!

The Sherwoods site doesn't seem to be working at the minute - it was last night, though... I also notice that Google Maps lists their Waterford store as closed permanently. Hopefully that's the case for the whole company!

Ernest

flogen wrote: »

Thanks - I suppose an extra €7 isn't going to make a huge difference!

The Sherwoods site doesn't seem to be working at the minute - it was last night, though... I also notice that Google Maps lists their Waterford store as closed permanently. Hopefully that's the case for the whole company!

The website seems to be working okay now (Saturday at 10-15am) AND the price has gone up another Euro to €296!
http://www.sherwoods.ie/product/coffee-machines/gaggia/ri8161/gag-ri8161

They seem to have places in Kilkenny and Carlow (I learned this when buying because I had considered driving down to collect in Carlow or Kilkenny but decided to take my chances with on-=line purchase which worked out fine.)

flogen

Ernest wrote: »

The website seems to be working okay now (Saturday at 10-15am) AND the price has gone up another Euro to €296!
http://www.sherwoods.ie/product/coffee-machines/gaggia/ri8161/gag-ri8161

They seem to have places in Kilkenny and Carlow (I learned this when buying because I had considered driving down to collect in Carlow or Kilkenny but decided to take my chances with on-=line purchase which worked out fine.)

Ugh... Now the listing has been removed completely!

Planet X

Back on the Aeropress at work, at least I don't have to cart it home every weekend now, but........the taste, whilst good enough, cannot compare to my new Gaggia Classic.
Been making expresso and cappuccinos and the flavour is stupendous.
Takes a while to "dial" everything in though but reckon I'm suckin' diesel now.
No regrets.

flogen

I'm now the proud owner of a Gaggia Classic - very happy with the results so far, though I'm still getting the hang of it (particularly when trying to use the steam wand properly).

I have the 2015 model, so the lack of a solenoid valve seems to be leaving me with wetter pucks than I'd like, but it's a fairly minor complaint. Other than that, so far, so good.

Now to save up for a decent grinder (currently using a Hario hand grinder but would like to speed up the process somewhat!)

Ernest

flogen wrote: »

I'm now the proud owner of a Gaggia Classic - very happy with the results so far, though I'm still getting the hang of it (particularly when trying to use the steam wand properly).

I have the 2015 model, so the lack of a solenoid valve seems to be leaving me with wetter pucks than I'd like, but it's a fairly minor complaint. Other than that, so far, so good.

Now to save up for a decent grinder (currently using a Hario hand grinder but would like to speed up the process somewhat!)

Get a good quality burr grinder - not one of those "propeller"-type grinders that leave unevenly ground coffee.

flogen

Ernest wrote: »

Get a good quality burr grinder - not one of those "propeller"-type grinders that leave unevenly ground coffee.

That's the plan - the Hario hand grinder I have is a burr one which I'll rely on while I put some money aside for a decent electric one (rather than wasting money on a cheap one now).