Miele service in my area has always been good but I now realize that they have been to my home often over the years to attend to this machine. Leaks, new steamer jet, new brew unit, etc. It also seems like as it ages (and even though we use filtered water), I need to descale it more frequently to get the amount of pressure we desire. No other appliance in my home has required this much attention!

But, the poor thing has just no "umph" anymore. I can make my morning latte but the pressure is lighter than it used to be. Consequently, the milk must be steamed for longer making the latte watery. By the time I am out the door with my cup, the foam has collapsed. I checked for anything blocking the steamer tube and have descaled twice this week alone.

I called Miele service and they sounded like they have no idea what could be wrong. "If there is no blockage and it has been descaled....there really is no reason why it shouldn't be working properly." He was baffled.

I had had the steamer jet replaced 1 1/2 years ago so I assume they would have replaced old "O" rings then??? That was also not a warranty repair. $$$!!! What else could be wrong?

Now I am debating as to whether I should just start anew rather than sink any more money into this machine.....Miele is asking $175 for a trip charge?!?!?!

Anyone else have similar long term issues with their Miele Coffees? Are the newer ones more reliable? Would another brand fit in the same custom cabinet opening?

It would be nice to get a plumbed unit but for the price of this thing....butshouldn't it last more than 9 years??

IMHO whatever brand built in coffee brewer is outrageously expensive, as a semi-commercial grade freestanding unit is often sold at a quarter of those prices.

I know, these built in brewers look very cool ... but I' consider to replace it with a countertop unit and to fill the empty place with a speedoven (or with just a cabinet lid)

Our dealer told me, that of ALL the Miele appliances, the Coffee system is the most high maintenance!

About 6 months ago, we made an appt. to see the new Coffee System in action at our local Beverly Hills, Ca Miele showroom. I was NOT impressed (and we currently have NINE Miele appliances in our home..Love Miele)!!! The coffee system did not make a very delicious Cappucino, the Coffee was not as hot to my liking..and the daily, weekly and monthly cleaning and maintenance was ridiculous!!!

When we built the kitchen, we knew the plumbed version was on the horizon so we plumbed to the cabinet and just capped it until it was needed. Maybe we anticipated having to replace it??

I have not been unhappy with the coffee quality until now and do have other Miele appliances that we love.

Larsi, did you eventually choose another brand?

hemmmm...haaaaw......

We just kept our beautiful, Italian Elektra Cappuccino/Espresso machine. Not fully automated like the Miele, but really easy to use, and SO gorgeous on the kitchen sink!

I think it is model Sixties A3. It is beautiful. We bought it from Chris Coffee in NY! These machines are VERY $$$ though...be prepared!! LOVE it though!!

Now I have 3 options:
1. I can try to sell this unit locally for a few hundred $$. Someone could put a couple hundred dollars more into it and be thrilled.

2. I can try to sell it locally listing it just for parts.

3.I can sell many of the parts on ebay that are in perfect working order. Items like the brew unit, water tank (this alone is $180 new from Miele), steamer jet, etc. do have value.

I am leaning toward the 3rd option but I am looking for a parts list to determine the prices. I cannot locate one online. Anyone have an idea where I can get an itemized parts list??

http://www.cagrimmett.com/justanswer/CVA610.pdf

I need a water pump by the way.

The brewing group pulls out as one piece. It stays SO clean during normal operation that it really doesn't have to be touched. The milk handling system (consisting of a stainless steel vacuum jug like a thermos that keeps milk fresh and cold all day) does not require the user to even touch a pitcher. You push a button and get hot milk for cocoa or foam for a cappuccino.

Every maintenance chore that the owner has to perform is simple and guided by a menu telling you each step.

The coffee we get is great! No, it is not as good as a hand-pulled shot from an expert barrista with the best equipment, but it isn't so far off that a normal, Starbucks drinking person will not be absolutely thrilled with it.

Weak areas are

1. The lid for the milk pitcher has two brittle plastic feed tubes and they are easily broken by careless insertion into the milk vessel. Use caution when putting the lid on.

2. The machine is pretty expensive. You can get a nice, countertop model that will make the same beverage for you at about half the cost. Additionally, Miele charges over $1.35 for EACH tiny little packet of milk system cleaner. Since you must run the milk cleaning cycle every day you use the milk system, this can run into serious money. (Helpful tip from mojavean - use a scant teaspoon of powdered Oxyclean. It works fine.)

3. My machine came to me with an improperly secured plug/jack combo on the thermostat that gave me repeated errors. Since I made the mistake of believing the seller that I would have a warranty, I was surprised to discover that Miele would not honor it when I called about the problem. I had to open the unit up and find the problem myself with no help from Miele at all, other than one phone tech's aside that the code represented a bad thermostat indication. Long story short, do not buy one of these anywhere but from an authorized dealer. Get the service extension for it, and get the warranty, in writing, for sure.

Other than that, be sure to get the plumbed version, CVA-4066 if memory serves. We have had both a countertop superautomatic with a manual reservoir that had to be constantly filled and now the Miele, which fills itself with water. There is no comparison in the level of convenience.

The *really* good part is stumbling out of the rack in the morning knowing you have set your machine to come on for you automatically. You grab a cup from the cabinet above or the warming drawer below, shove it under the spout and push the button. In less than a minute you are walking away with a delicious coffee or espresso and you do not give up one inch of cooking and food prep space on the counter to get it. That alone was worth twice the price to us and I would not hesitate to get another one today. The Miele is the best.

The learning curve was bigger than I anticipated (even after owning a prior model) and they should include a DVD or at least produce a youtube video to be viewed on their website. After figuring it all out, I decided to take my remaining questions to the SF Miele showroom where I was met with blank stares and empathetic frustrations:

There is no "trick" to by-passing the stupid instruction menus while doing maintenance and set ups. Even after performing the same procedures everyday for 4 years!

There is no way out of an error message or incorrect button press aside from switching the interior on/off switch and leaving the machine to "think about what it did wrong" for an indeterminate amount of time. There should definitely be a reset or exit button.

There is no explanation as to why the quantity of a latte varies from glass to glass depending on whether it is the first, second or third one to be produced in succession (some don't fill the glass while the next overflows).

I rinse the milk pipework every day but only use the powder to clean once a week. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me but if I wanted to pay $1.35@, I would get a french roast at Starbucks!

I still have the old unit in the garage to be sold off for parts if anyone wants some!!!

I am new to this site, having come across it in a search for answers concerning my built-in Miele cva 610 espresso machine. I see that msk6261 has parts available. I am very interested in obtaining some. If msk6261 could contact me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.