# Trying to buy a Gaggia Classic on ebay



## MartynWheeler (May 11, 2014)

Any advice for a noob about buying a classic?


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I'm no expert as I've only just bought a modded one from a fellow forum member yesterday and haven't pulled a shot yet. But there was a standard one on eBay that I was watching that went for £72 last night. Often they're collection only so you may need to wait for one local to you to come up. I asked the seller how old it was, whether everything it originally came with was there and whether they ever backflushed, how often they descaled, did they use filtered water etc. Can't add much more than that. At a guess I'd expect eBay ones to be standard rather than modded with Silvia wands etc. From reading threads on here there seems to be some discussion about whether those produced prior to Philips taking over are better or not, but I don't even know which models are which so I can't help with that. And then there's the argument that a newer machine might be better than an allegedly better older one (or not - depending on how it was cared for). That's probably muddying the waters though so maybe best ignored!


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## MartynWheeler (May 11, 2014)

Cheers for the advice. I just bought one for £50 on gumtree.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

If it's working OK - it's a steal. Well done.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Wow, good deal! Enjoy! Looking forward to trying mine. I paid a lot more but mine's fully pimped and PIDded and immaculate as only a few months old. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the best out of it.


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