I've been looking to get a pinball machine for the last few months. I narrowed it down to Star Trek TNG because well mostly I'm a Trek fan and I've been playing it on the pinball arcade. I start looking around for the local shops to see if they have one. One seller in town does have one and well I thought I would see with you guys on if this a good purchase or not. This seller originally wanted 3895 but I was only able to get him down to 3695.

Faults of the machine.
Delta Quadrant ramp is damaged on the side and is cracked on the top.
The alpha quadrant ramp is cracked
The right shield indicator protective coating has discolored about the size of a nickel
2 of the plastics broken.

Back glass condition in fair condition. Bulbs look good, none that were burned out. Back board and electronics look okay. Interior wiring okay enough for a 19 year old machine.

It looks like it's in okay enough condition for a 19 year old machine. I just find the issue with these faults coupled with the price and the seller to be enough to raise doubts. My friends among one of them that have several machines feel that the price is too high but I feel they might be out of touch with how the pinball market is and they don't care for the seller or his company. The machine is being sold as is.

What do you all think? Attached is some of the photos I took of it when it was on location.

http://s162.beta.photobucket.com/user/Siddeous/library/TNG%20pinball

What is a good price on a TNG pinball? 3695, good bad, fair?

I offered 3k in cash noting the issues and the owner was adiment on 3695 saying it was playable. When I first saw the machine the dot was present and by the time it got shopped and sent to another location on accident it was no longer present. I had plans to DIY everything, one of my friends offered to help me with learning the ropes. With it's condition I inquired about a warranty like 30 days because it was on rotation and it's condition. That was a no go which didn't help with me wanting to buy it.

The flippers have been fixed. Those photos were from when i went and played some games on location. All was done was some cleaning and tightening of the flippers and the kickback. Is it the game i want to own but its one i can wait and find a better machine. Ive started to expand my search to reno, salt lake city, oregon and Northern idaho. I emailed the seller telling him not at its price/condition. Thanked them for their time and the search continues.

Yeah it looked like it was discolorization from the mylar coating. When I looked underneath I couldn't see it. The plastic was clear so it looked like it was just the mylar.

Ive been doing some searching and a place about an hours drive has one. I should know in the next couple of days if the owner is interested in selling. A nice thing about being an hour away it's not a problem to go get it.

I got a hold of the company an hour away in Oregon that has a TNG pinball on location. I am going to check it out, it's on location. The going price according to their distributor is 3500-4500. So I am going to look at it and if I like it I'll have it returned to their shop and have it gone over and then offer about 3500 since I have to get it and set it up myself. With it in Oregon I won't have to pay sales tax.

I put an ad up on Craigslist and I did get a response. Might be looking at theirs over the weekend.

The one in Ontario Oregon is a nice one from what I have seen, it definitely needs to be shopped and cleaned. This one is in far more better condition compared to the one at Ellis. There was only 1 broken plastic but it was the same left plastic as the other machine. The Delta Quadrant ramp is in great condition, there is a slight crack in the Alpha quadrant ramp but it is not going to affect anything. The back box is in good condition, just needs some touch up paint in a couple of areas. Other than that it's in good condition from what I saw. I am going to call them on Monday and have them bring it back so I look more in depth.

I also looked at another one today. I put an ad on Craigslist earlier last week looking for a TNG pinball and got a response from a Pinball enthusiast about 15 minutes away from me. He is looking to get around 4200 for it.

Craigslist
It's in great condition. A lot of the plastics need to be replaced but he has a plastics kit that's included so not an issue. The play field is in great condition and clean. The delta quadrant ramp is missing a little of it's ramp at the base. I'll need to get ramp guards. The wiring underneath is in great condition. The machine has had a partial LED light conversion. I would say about 75% of the machines lights are LED. Machine is owned by a pinball enthusiast that owns about 15 pinball machines. 4200 A side note I got to play a Medieval Madness.

Ontario Or
It's in good condition from what I saw. It needs to get cleaned and shopped. The back box could use a little touch up paint. The Delta Quadrant ramp no issues. Would need to have it brought back to their shop to see the under body and the wiring underneath. 1 broken plastic. looking around 4000 for it.

Pros of Craigslist TNG: Closer drive, owned by an enthusiast, not an operator, 75% lights LEDs, new plastics kit, clean. No sales tax.

Pros of Ontario TNG: Would need to have price dropped by a few hundred 3700 maybe? No Sales tax with purchases with companies in Oregon.

Cons of Craigslist TNG: Not really a con but the Delta Quadrant has a small portion of the base of the ramp broken. with some ramp guards not a problem. Owner not 100% certain on selling so he probably won't let it go for less.

Cons of Ontario TNG: Would need to look at it at their shop. 1 hr drive from Boise. min 2 trips. Price compared to the enthusiast's machine. Might not deliver so I might need to go pick it up.

I'm thinking the Craigslist TNG pinball unless the Ontario one would drop the price a couple hundred bucks to make it more inciting.