I was gifted a Bunn VPR a few years ago as well and love it. Nearly everything on it is made out of metal, very little plastic. Easily serviceable. Makes what I at least consider to be good coffee (I like a few cups each morning but I'm not really a connoisseur - but it's better than any drip machine I've had previously).
My only complaints:
1) No auto-shutoff on the hotplate, so if you forget you get a nice burned coffee smell to remind you.
2) Keeps a reservoir of hot water all the time which isn't very efficient. I plan to add a timer to only have it be hot in the mornings when I need it.
3) I miss the interrupting feature that my old coffee maker had where you could take the pot out from underneath while it was brewing and it would not drip all over. The Bunn brews fast so this isn't a huge problem, but sometimes as it's finishing and there's a few drips coming out you want to fill your cup and not have it drip on the hotplate.
It's not for everyone, but I'm happy with it and I'm confident this machine will last as long as I want it to.
My only complaints:
1) No auto-shutoff on the hotplate, so if you forget you get a nice burned coffee smell to remind you.
2) Keeps a reservoir of hot water all the time which isn't very efficient. I plan to add a timer to only have it be hot in the mornings when I need it.
3) I miss the interrupting feature that my old coffee maker had where you could take the pot out from underneath while it was brewing and it would not drip all over. The Bunn brews fast so this isn't a huge problem, but sometimes as it's finishing and there's a few drips coming out you want to fill your cup and not have it drip on the hotplate.
It's not for everyone, but I'm happy with it and I'm confident this machine will last as long as I want it to.