I bought one a number of years ago now. The first one broke after a couple of months so I exchanged it for a new one which has been fine ever since but like you say little remains of the writing around the buttons, at least I know what they do, anyone else wouldn't have a clue. I won't buy another one that's for sure, even though it makes great coffee, cleaning it is too much work.

I have that one and it's been going strong for a few years. We use it everyday. My pet peeve is cleaning it. I use a filter instead of the gold filter so it's just rinsing that part but it's such a pain to clean out the grinding part.

I have noticed that if no filter is put in, the machine will not work.

Thanks ladies. I made my decision today to not buy another coffemaker that has a built-in grinder. Several sales people have told me that those grinders are not effective and I should buy a separate grinder specifically for coffee. They also said, they're a pain to clean and that's why many people don't like them. Thanks for your input.

I have a cheap programmable Proctor Silex. Makes fine coffee, no muss, no fuss.

That's for making the coffee that I take to work, usually Maxwell House.

When I'm drinking a cup of coffee to savor it, I start with top quality beans from Big Valley Coffee in Kentucky, grind them fresh, and brew them in a Nissan stainless steel insulated press pot.

Great coffee.

before you give up on coffee makers that grind the beans, check out the capresso; i bought mine at wm,. sonoma almost two years ago, and i think it makes excelent coffee. previously, i had a 10-year-old mr. coffee grind and brew that served me very well, but was no longer available. i tried a cusinart but did not like it; i do like the capresso--a bit pricey at almost $200, but hey, if you need great coffee, it's worth it. also, wm. sonoma stands behind their products and will replace it if something happens even after the basic warranty has expired. i just hate the idea -- and mess- of grinding daily.
good luck! nk