Be patient and you will be able to find something nice in your price range. I would recommend Getaway, Fish Tales, Road show, shadow, Congo, Tommy, Johnny Mnemonic. See top 100 and go from there.

That's a decent budget for a reasonably good pin. I would check the market here on pinside to what might be available in your area. I know many pinsiders are willing to ship or at least find a way to get the pin to you (maybe meeting half way?)

I didn't realize when I first got into the hobby how easily a pin will fit into the back of an SUV.

Since you mentioned getting one shipped, you could always order one from TNT amusements, they ship everywhere and I feel they do really good work. Checkout their YouTube channel for an example of what they do. They make a video of every game they sell. (Check out Teed Off from a few weeks ago for a pin I am getting from them).

Take your time and enjoy the search, its arguably the funnest part! (Also, listen to reviews, they're a big help)

Elvira would have to be perfect at that price .

Black Knight 2000 is a great first pin and in that price range. You might want to check out 'The Pinball Arcade' video game, you can play alot of the tables listed here and get a feel for what you like.

Also, you can pick up 2 or 3 decent EM machines with that budget, sometimes fully restored.

Welcome. There are a lot of Pinsiders in Texas, one may have a game for sale that you would like. Don't be afraid to do a road trip to get a game, it can be a lot of fun and could save you good $$$. I payed $3k for my EATPM in better then new condition so that one is overpriced in my opinion. Our Marketplace is a great way to find a pin. Check vids. of game play to see if a game is to your liking, I did that before I bought many of my games to see how much fun factor they had. Good luck with your hunt, it's half the fun.