Quoted from mikerob34:Agree....great thread topic. Would actually like to pick this back up minus the 'how to run a pinball company' slide. Actually considering buying an SS and have never owned one. So would really like to hear about which ones to stay away from and how different/more difficult the maintenance can be vs a mid 90's DMD pin. Would really like to hear more opinions....
Maintenance-wise, I would say similar, maybe a bit more for the boards. I'm pretty familiar with Bally AS-2815 games and though there's a learning curve, once you get it, it's not too bad.
If you're patient enough you can get one for a decent price. Sterns from this era use the same boardsets as ballys, so pick up a cheap Meteor or Galaxy and start there.