Vintage Baby Gaggia - opinions wanted

[Batman]

Hi All -

I see an old-school looking (1991 maybe) Baby Gaggia for sale that "needs repair".  It has the cool looking red light-up logo that reminds me of other electronics I owned back in the day.  (sidenote: I don't think "kids" these days can appreciate the awesomeness of those vintage red lights.)

Is there any opinion among the experts here if these machines are repairable or worth repairing?  Through search on GCBC, I can see conversations on the subject of Baby Gaggias, but I don't know if it refers to this model or the newer ones.  What could be a best case/worst case cost to repair?  I see a couple sites that advertise parts, so I do have a rough idea.  But I suppose the risk is getting in deep with repair costs, and it would have been easier to just buy something different.  Maybe the plus side is they are easily repaired, and it could be a nice find....and I do love a good weekend project.

I do not own any espresso machine currently, but I am a hands-on type of coffee guy.  If it lacks modern features, I'm OK with that.

Thanks in advance.

[Badam]

Does your model look like the one that I have attached?

I found a parts diagrams which might help:

http://www.partsguru.com/user/ER0249_01%20Rev01.pdf

The solenoid valve part number is a 3-way valve, so that is a major plus. However, given the age you might be replacing the pump, boiler, etc... Those parts could add up really fast, assuming you could find them. A newer/used Gaggia classic might be far less hassle, albeit without the rocking red lights. Just my two-cents, others here have far more experience with these machines.....

[Joe]

I want one badly. That looks awesome. All it needs is an old LED handheld video game like the old mini pac man, defender, or football....

[Batman]

Yeah, it looks similar to that.  Seems they made them in a couple different colors...not sure if that was a variance by year or not.

I stumbled across the parts guru site also, and it seems to give a good idea of the potential cost involved.

"This may be too much fun to resist."  I have said that about cars once or twice also...lesson not learned apparently.

[chef glenn]

I want one badly. That looks awesome. All it needs is an old LED handheld video game like the old mini pac man, defender, or football....

Come on Joey, you know where there are THREE of em!! White, Orange, Black!

[Joe]

I want one badly. That looks awesome. All it needs is an old LED handheld video game like the old mini pac man, defender, or football....

Come on Joey, you know where there are THREE of em!! White, Orange, Black!

You have these? Orange FTW.. Lets make the deal

[chef glenn]

Okay, I guess...hmmm, I wonder  how "badly" you want one! heh heh...all complete except white one needs water
reservoir lid..
Can I pick up beans tomorrow before 1:00?
If you like I can bring all 3 down if you want to take a peek. The black one was pricey.
I think the seller of the Orange Baby might want 1st shot at getting it back tho..
I will pm her in morning.

[Joe]

I have gone through the orange one without the 70's digital lights look and got it running good now. The steam wand is awesome compared to the newer ones, but not as nice as the Silvia upgrade on the newer classic. I plan on looking for a single hole tip to try out.

The black digital one i haven't been able to get going yet. I will spend some more time trying to get the pump primed. Overall I really like these. The black one has a problem with the steam selector too and I'm notsure how difficult its going to be to get fixed.