Peace of mind is definitely a good thing, buying through a dealer will cost you more and will likely attract a warranty. Bare in mind, the kind folk on Pinside will be able to solve any and every issue you could possibly have so don’t discount private sales. Far more to choose from and much better pricing.

Best guy ever would be that guy on Pinside who goes by the moniker Pinpals.

He did some research. bought a nice JP:DE. He Googled information. Checked Youtube for short how to videos. He scoured Pinside stickies and made an occasional post for help and received good help and information.

As he gained in experience and wisdom. He helped others. And his games looked and played great.

You have a ball running around in there. No matter how good the game. Sooner or later you'll need to clean it or fix it. A bit more effort and you'll amaze yourself as your skills increase.

You can do this.

LTG : )

Beyond Pinside, there’s a growing pinball community and league around Charlotte that would likely be more than happy to help with any problem. Troubleshooting problems in person is always much easier than remotely. There’s also probably some paid techs in the area that operate through word-of-month within the community.