Machine was unknowingly broken from day 1.
After owning this machine for 3 years, it went TU. As reported by others, the listed customer service number is a joke, but they gave me the number of the only people in the country that know anything about the machine and service it - Turnpike Appliance in Bay Shore, NY 631-665-8311. The service man is Mike and he was very helpful. After over $400 in repairs the machine was returned, at which time I found it was screwed up from day 1. The manual doesn't even alude to the existence of a removable (and cleanable) Brew Group. In my case it couldn't be removed because the Drive Unit was broken and jammed the Brew Unit. I had to turn off the power just before the end of the stroke before the Brew Group could be removed. In addition to replacing the Brew Group and Drive Unit, the steam valve and grinder had to be replaced. There is no information on how the machine is supposed to work, so I never knew it wasn't working correctly from the beginning. The key indicator is that it seldom made...
Great Machine
After years of use, I replaced my Saeco machine with the Bosch B20. I did a lot of research, and I think this is a great machine for the money. It is fast to start up, and it makes great coffee and espresso. The steam rod/hot water dispenser is also top notch. The Germans do a great job engineering a great boiler. Water is super hot and there is no wait. If you make tea, it is a lot faster than waiting for a kettle.
I never had any customer service issues, so I cannot really address the machine from that angle. Finding the cleaning pods was not that hard, IMHO.
The only complain I have is that the water tank is a small, and must be refilled often if you drink a lot of coffee or make a lot when you have guests.
Strong & Reliable
I've owned the Bosch for over 5 years now. It's pushed out close to 10,000 shots of coffee now and is still as dependable as the day we got it. I've seen the low ratings on here for it and all I can say is that when this one dies, I will get another one.
Pros - adjustability, ease of use, ease of cleaning, dependability, sleek good looks, solid programming and logic
Cons - takes awhile to do the descaling, but I owe it that much!
This machine is a lot more machine than the average automatic. Take the time to learn how to use it, what coffee roast works the best and how to steam. It will pay off with a wonderful green tea latte or hot chocolate steamed and frothed to perfection or a simple coffee as strong as you want it.
If you're in Las Vegas, Econ Appliances services them and I'm sure that any metro area will have appliance repair services that can handle it. They're not that complicated.
Buy it and enjoy it. (Pre-nup says I get it...
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