Silvia V2

Rancilio Sylvia owner here. V2. It's about 20 years old. And I've owned it for 12 years of that. 0 need for selling it. This thing will stay. It's simple. Robust. And makes good coffee. Sure. Not perfect. A lot of the ehm... perfectionists.. complain about temperature surfing and what not. I have little interest in single origin, locally roasted beans with notes of vanilla, chocolate and berries or something. I just use it to make a good cup of coffee.

I have a v2 and it's been great!

If the seller doesn't have a detailed list of all the repairs that have been done, assume you'll need to replace the heating element before too long. If you're handy you can replace it, but it's not meant to be replaced so it takes some rudimentary machining to get the old one out. I had to borrow a band saw and drill press to get it done, but it was worth it to avoid buying a new boiler! I had my v2 for 20 years before rehabbing it. The boiler was full of unspeakable gunk. As others have said, you'll want a temp control upgrade. Work the seller down 90 and put it toward a Gaggimate! Absolutely love mine.

Hey y'all, 'm trying to choose between these two machines. I'm looking to upgrade from a V2 Silvia and I'm faced with a tough choice. I absolutely loved being able to crack open my Silvia and service it, I upgraded and replaced a bunch of components since owning it, and I really enjoy the fact that this machine has been in service for this long and could continue to serve me or someone else for another 10-20 years. My main motivation to upgrade is that I'd like to be able to make back to back milk drinks more easily, it's a pain with the single boiler and I haven't done a PID upgrade. The silvia pro would be familiar and similarly easy for me to repair and service on my own, but it's behind the times tech wise and has some ux flaws. The Profitec move would give me much more room to tinker with my espresso, though I'm not sure how much tinkering will realistically do, and I want a machine that is built to last and easy to find parts for to repair. Is the Silvia really that much easier to repair and keep for 10+ years, or is that something that can just as easily be accomplished with the profitec? Will really use the added features of the profitec?

I appreciate your perspective. Though I kinda like the industrial/commercial aesthetic of the Silvia, though I will concede the move is a more beautiful machine. Heat up time doesn't matter to me too much, I'm just going to hook it up to a timer so it's hot already when I'm ready to brew

This looks like a V2 Silvia. The worst that could happen is this is the heating element seals are cracked and needs a full replacement with a V3+ boiler/new screw-on heating element. Thats about $250 including new o-rings and gaskets. Maybe another $50 for original 58mm Rancilio portafilter, 3rd party is likely cheaper. Price is slightly high but I personally would take the gamble if a Silvia was an upgrade!