# Rancilio Silvia retailers



## shad3925

I notice from earlier threads on where to buy in the UK the advice has been to buy second hand.

I would like to buy new, any suggestions please, preferably a company where the Silvia does not have to go to Italy for warranty repairs


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## The Systemic Kid

Only UK seller I can think of is Myespresso - based in Coventry. Be a good idea to use the forum search tool to read feedback from members who have bought from this seller.


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## shad3925

The Systemic Kid said:


> Only UK seller I can think of is Myespresso - based in Coventry. Be a good idea to use the forum search tool to read feedback from members who have bought from this seller.


Many thanks for your help


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## shad3925

After much research it would appear that most UK retailers send warranty repairs to Italy, most of these retailers including Myespresso have a lot to be desired.

One company that has favourable reviews and do there own warranty repairs and servicing of machines is Fairfax coffee http://www.fairfaxcoffee.com/


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## Old Nick

Coffeeitalia.co.uk offer a two year warranty with repairs done by Ferrari Espresso in Bridgend. The machines themselves are Fedexed direct from Italy and take about four or five days to arrive. It may be the case, I don't know, that any that arrive faulty out of the box are sent back to Italy for replacement/repair. But general warranty repairs are sent freepost to South Wales, fixed, and returned free of charge. Don't know how swift and painfree the services is as I haven't used it.


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## Trevor

Old Nick said:


> Coffeeitalia.co.uk offer a two year warranty with repairs done by Ferrari Espresso in Bridgend. The machines themselves are Fedexed direct from Italy and take about four or five days to arrive. It may be the case, I don't know, that any that arrive faulty out of the box are sent back to Italy for replacement/repair. But general warranty repairs are sent freepost to South Wales, fixed, and returned free of charge. Don't know how swift and painfree the services is as I haven't used it.


Hi, I brought my Silvia from coffeitalia a couple of months ago, it was actually faulty out of the box, it's best to email coffeitalia because they don't often answer the phone, especially at weekends. It was sent back to Italy for repair it took about 10-12 days from FedEx picking it up, sending it to Italy, being repaired and then being sent back to, thankfully working. It was pretty pain free, just a bit worrying when coffeitalia didn't always answer the phone, he was ok to talk to on the phone, friendly but his English isn't very good. Overall it was a pretty good service, also it was freepost. Hope this helps.


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## Charliej

Shad before you actually pull the trigger on a Silvia what grinder are you planning on pairing it with as Miss Silvia is renowned for being a finicky Mistress when fed on a substandard grind.


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## shad3925

Charliej said:


> Shad before you actually pull the trigger on a Silvia what grinder are you planning on pairing it with as Miss Silvia is renowned for being a finicky Mistress when fed on a substandard grind.


I have the Rancilio Rocky


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## Charliej

shad3925 said:


> I have the Rancilio Rocky


You might want to also think about a grinder upgrade too, or maybe selling the Rocky on buying a used well treated Gaggia Classic and a good grinder, this would produce better results than a Silvia with a sub standard stepped grinder and the Classic is a lot more forgiving in use than a Silvia. Also to be honest a brand new Silvia simply isn't worth the extra cost over a Gaggia Classic, your other option would be to save a little more and go for something like the filly pimped Nuova Simonelli Oscar from Elektros.it which would land on your doorstep for less than £600 and is a huge huge step up from a Silvia. Do you already have an espresso machine? and if so which one?


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## Jason1wood

What about a modded Mazzer Super Jolly for a grinder, you wouldn't need to upgrade for a long time.

I might let mine go in a few days. Just seeing if there's any interest


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## shad3925

Charliej said:


> You might want to also think about a grinder upgrade too, or maybe selling the Rocky on buying a used well treated Gaggia Classic and a good grinder, this would produce better results than a Silvia with a sub standard stepped grinder and the Classic is a lot more forgiving in use than a Silvia. Also to be honest a brand new Silvia simply isn't worth the extra cost over a Gaggia Classic, your other option would be to save a little more and go for something like the filly pimped Nuova Simonelli Oscar from Elektros.it which would land on your doorstep for less than £600 and is a huge huge step up from a Silvia. Do you already have an espresso machine? and if so which one?


The grinder is a recent purchase which i will have to stick with for now.

Current machine is a simple Delonghi Icona http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-ECO310-R-Espresso-Machine-Scarlet/dp/B0029NZW4A


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## shad3925

The Nuova Simonelli Oscar is certainly in another league and so is the price.

When buying from Elektros what happens if you have a component failure during the warranty period?

I also have to consider that we do not drink copius amounts of daily coffee.


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## Charliej

shad3925 said:


> The Nuova Simonelli Oscar is certainly in another league and so is the price.
> 
> When buying from Elektros what happens if you have a component failure during the warranty period?
> 
> I also have to consider that we do not drink copius amounts of daily coffee.


Elektros can I believe get a service agent here in the UK to sort things out, never bought anything from them myself but until I leapt upon an opportunity last last year it was what I was going to buy and from them. I do hear that they have excellent customer service. If you are buying a brand new machine and don't want to spend the money on an Oscar, I would seriously suggest going down the route of Gaggia Classic and good grinder rather than buying a Silvia as at new price the difference between the 2 machines really isn't worth the double or more cost to buy the Silvia. Alternatively hang around the forum, read and learn about stuff and watch the for sale subforum like a hawk for potential bargains.


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## shad3925

I am now seriously confused.

I am retaining my current grinder for now, as a matter of interest what is wrong with the Rancilio Rocky?

The decision I now have to make is to choose between the Oscar, Silvia or Gaggia Classic, obviously the Oscar is the best but Gaggia v Silvia is there a big difference?


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## charris

Jason1wood said:


> What about a modded Mazzer Super Jolly for a grinder, you wouldn't need to upgrade for a long time.
> 
> I might let mine go in a few days. Just seeing if there's any interest


There is...


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## Mrboots2u

You will be able to make espresso with the rocky. As with a lot if gear there are better grinders. Rocky is stepped and has large ish steps, but will be capable of delivering an espresso grind


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## Mrboots2u

Jason1wood said:


> What about a modded Mazzer Super Jolly for a grinder, you wouldn't need to upgrade for a long time.
> 
> I might let mine go in a few days. Just seeing if there's any interest


Can we try and keep the thread to the ops original question re which machine to choose







.. I'm sure you won't have any trouble selling your grinder through the sales thread .


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## Daren

Mrboots2u said:


> You will be able to make espresso with the rocky. As with a lot if gear there are better grinders. Rocky is stepped and has large ish steps, but will be capable of delivering an espresso grind


I can confirm this - I had a Silvia and Rocky combo and was able to pull perfectly acceptable espressos which kept me happy for quite some time, but boots is right about the step adjustment - they can be big. When the upgrade bug bites changing the grinder is the best improvement you'll make.


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## Jason1wood

Mrboots2u said:


> Can we try and keep the thread to the ops original question re which machine to choose
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .. I'm sure you won't have any trouble selling your grinder through the sales thread .


Sorry

Ok back on track...

I ran a Rancilio Rocky with a Gaggia Classic for about a year but all that. Time I was yearning to upgrade the machine and grinder. Yes they are great starter setups, but once you've mastered the basics, upgraditus really kicks in.


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## Charliej

shad3925 said:


> I am now seriously confused.
> 
> I am retaining my current grinder for now, as a matter of interest what is wrong with the Rancilio Rocky?
> 
> The decision I now have to make is to choose between the Oscar, Silvia or Gaggia Classic, obviously the Oscar is the best but Gaggia v Silvia is there a big difference?


Other than the price there isn't that much difference between the 2 to make the Silvia worth over twice as much, the Silvia has a larger brass boiler against the Classics aluminium boiler both are single boiler dual use machines that have to be switched between temperatures to pull a shot and then steam milk and consequently both have the same issues with temperature stability. As Mr Boots said the Rocky is stepped grinder with quite large steps so in some cases it could be difficult to dial a particular coffee in when using an espresso machine with unpressurised baskets and portafilters.


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## Wando64

To me, moving from the Gaggia alluminium boiler to the Silvia brass boiler alone is worth the money difference. It turns out the Silvia is a much better machine all round. For example, the boiler is approx double the size of the Gaggia which means steaming power is considerably better.

Bottom line is that the Silvia is a better machine than the Gaggia. Whether it is worth the additional price premium it can only be your decision based on what is important to you.

The question was "where can I buy a Silvia".

My answer is: I got mine from Coffeitalia


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## shad3925

Wando64 said:


> To me, moving from the Gaggia alluminium boiler to the Silvia brass boiler alone is worth the money difference. It turns out the Silvia is a much better machine all round. For example, the boiler is approx double the size of the Gaggia which means steaming power is considerably better.
> 
> Bottom line is that the Silvia is a better machine than the Gaggia. Whether it is worth the additional price premium it can only be your decision based on what is important to you.
> 
> The question was "where can I buy a Silvia".
> 
> My answer is: I got mine from Coffeitalia


Many thanks.

I intended this morning to research Silvia v Gaggia, your comments have swayed me back towards the Silvia. Some of the Gaggia reviews i have seen confirm your observations in that the steaming is a problem with its small boiler.

I would be interested in how you find the Silvia plus any tips and has the Auber PID been a good investment.


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## Mrboots2u

I used to own a silvia , it has decent steam power , and a better stock tip on the wand .

When making milk drinks it falls down where all single boiler units do, in the recovery time it takes to get the boiler temps up and down for brewing and steaming .

One thing Pids will do is help reduce this time , but also decrease the band of brew temperature which can drastically effect your taste of shots .

Example the stock silvia has a thermostat that triggers lights on and off for brew temps. This thermostat is inaccurate and that temp can be plus or minus 10 degress in temp ( meaning sour or bitter shots )

Hence you see lots of people describing how to temperature surf to try and hit the same temp each time .

A pid will control the water in the boiler temp to a degre and indicate a temperature of the water In it ( you can then offset this to get a brew temp required for extraction ) .

While it won't make your best shot any better , it will allow you to make that best shot more often ....

I'm sure you have done loads of research and seen these already just incase tho

Silvia versus Oscar ...


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## shad3925

Many thanks, superb advice


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## Olliehulla

I have the Silvia with Auber PID (self fitted and the best / only modification I have made). I also have the Rocky doserless. For me as a casual, 2-3 coffees a day when I'm working from home or a few after dinner with friends it is exactly what I need. Yes I would love a better, possibly dual boiler machine and a more adaptable grinder but I can't (currently) justify it, the Silvia/Rocky combo does just fine. I have my routine down to a fine art and shots are consistently good (IMHO).

I bought my kit from myespresso, no issues with their service and pricing was the best at the time (Feb 2013).

Good luck with whatever you decide


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## shad3925

Olliehulla said:


> I have the Silvia with Auber PID (self fitted and the best / only modification I have made). I also have the Rocky doserless. For me as a casual, 2-3 coffees a day when I'm working from home or a few after dinner with friends it is exactly what I need. Yes I would love a better, possibly dual boiler machine and a more adaptable grinder but I can't (currently) justify it, the Silvia/Rocky combo does just fine. I have my routine down to a fine art and shots are consistently good (IMHO).
> 
> I bought my kit from myespresso, no issues with their service and pricing was the best at the time (Feb 2013).
> 
> Good luck with whatever you decide


Many thanks, I am of a similar opinion regarding the grinder, but time and experience will tell.

Exploring possible used HX machines first and if that fails then maybe a Silvia


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## shad3925

Posted in error


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## chinery

I was thinking about buying a Silvia with a PID a while ago, and after extensively questioning myself and other people, eventually ordered an Oscar from elekros.it a week or so ago. I'm planning to write up a thread with my opinions on the machine (and post about the buying experience too), but you're welcome to PM me before that with any questions.

One thing to clarify is that if you do order it from elekro's, and something goes horribly wrong that requires a service, you'll have to send it back to Italy. Nuova Simonelli don't have any service centres outside of Italy, or so Gianni from elektro's told me. However he also said that he'd much rather help you fix it yourself, sending you out any spare parts as necessary. (It's reassuring to me when a retailer says 'I'll help you open it up and fix it yourself' rather than 'touch those screws and you've invalidated your warranty'). And that he's had very few Oscars sent back in 7 years, they're generally very reliable.


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## shad3925

chinery said:


> I was thinking about buying a Silvia with a PID a while ago, and after extensively questioning myself and other people, eventually ordered an Oscar from elekros.it a week or so ago. I'm planning to write up a thread with my opinions on the machine (and post about the buying experience too), but you're welcome to PM me before that with any questions.
> 
> One thing to clarify is that if you do order it from elekro's, and something goes horribly wrong that requires a service, you'll have to send it back to Italy. Nuova Simonelli don't have any service centres outside of Italy, or so Gianni from elektro's told me. However he also said that he'd much rather help you fix it yourself, sending you out any spare parts as necessary. (It's reassuring to me when a retailer says 'I'll help you open it up and fix it yourself' rather than 'touch those screws and you've invalidated your warranty'). And that he's had very few Oscars sent back in 7 years, they're generally very reliable.


Many thanks, my post count as a newbie does not permit pm's until it reachs 15, would you mind sending your email address via pm


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## Mrboots2u

You need 2 more posts I think shad , keep going .....


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## Tewdric

My espresso machine journey started with a Silvia. I sold it when I upgraded to an S24. The big machine subsequently failed on me and I haven't got round to fixing it yet, so am back to a.... ....Gaggia classic!

While the S24 shots were much more consistent than either of the smaller machines, I can't say I remember the Silvia being any better than the Gaggia is now. I'm not really one for girly milky drinks so I rarely use the steamy stick though.

Having said all this the ex Coffeebean Ex dem Expobar Leva HX arrives soon so it will all be academic to me!


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## shad3925

Mrboots2u said:


> You need 2 more posts I think shad , keep going .....


Can't wait, so many questions


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