My suggestion: do anything you can to avoid dealing with WLL. Call it personal bias, but I have heard nothing but bad reviews about their customer service (mainly it taking forever and them being slow to respond).
The Achille operates inherently differently than every other lever machine that the consumer buys (ie., not a multi-group professional machine) - you can read more about it here:
http://www.home-barista.com/gaggia-a...ers-guide.html
My recommendation would be to buy a used Europiccola. They go for ~$3-400 in good condition and, like couloirman said, replacement parts are quick and easy to find, they are super easy to fix, and they last a lifetime.
If you get a Europiccola for $400, then you have another $400 saved from the Achille to buy a grinder (which is more important than the espresso machine).
edit: here is a nice Pavoni for sale (dunno if you mind buying from the US):
http://coffeegeek.com/forums/members/buysell/440331
Bookmarks