I've had the machine for years and love the coffee it produces, especially that first cup in the morning. Only one negative aspect - The control knob shaft becomes brittle resulting in one prong breaking off and the whole control knob and back plate falling off. I've had to order in a replacement knob about every 2 years. Solved the problem now by liquid nailing the remains of a fractured knob into a 10mm socket joiner. Not very elegant looking, but very functional. Maybe redesign knob using a solid 10mm shaft similar to socket bit?

Bar Espresso Pump Espresso machine makes lovely coffee. Found steamer frother awkward to get milk to froth (I know low fat milk is best for frothing), Instructions for frothing not very clear. I found it a very noisy appliance when operating. Unless jug, steaming arm and frother is washed immediately it can be difficult to get the dried milk off.
Made nice coffee.
Steaming arm, frother and jug must be washed immediately. Very noisy product when in use.

Can't really fault if for just over $100. I've had mine for about 5 yrs and make a cup of coffee almost every morning. However I do just microwave my milk and use the machine to make the espresso.
Makes as decent a cup of coffee as you get in many cafes. I use Aldi fair trade coffee with mine and it's a nice mellow cup.
The frother is fiddly, but I find that on all home coffee machines. Not as exciting looking as some

overall i think it is a good machine for around $100, it does make a descent cup of coffee, not as good as the expensive machines but good enough if you are on a budget and still want a good coffee
very affordable and great value for money, we had our one for years, it was easy to use to make a coffee however found it a bit hard with the milk frothing, looks quite nice, is compact so doesnt take up too much bench space, is light weight
the only thing i did not like was that the frother was very hard to use and i could never figure it out so my husband had to do it for me each time

Good value for what it is, but if you expect cafe quality coffee you'll be disappointed. Even so, one of the best value coffee machines for under $500.
Simple to use
Good value for money
Reasonably rugged by consumer electronics standards
Some plastic components become brittle and break over time (over 4 years in my case).
Uses pressurised baskets - but these can be replaced.