So someone that buys this might have the ability to tweak it until it plays really well.

None of those people should be expecting to *return* a game after delivery though.

3 attempts by a newb may not mean much. The problems he listed are rather simple to fix for an experienced pinball person.

You should not need to "break in" a game for it to play well nor would a sdtm style kick out fix itself. This is something that needs to be solved by a person. This type of tweak is not generally difficult.

You generally do not fix VuK aiming issues by loosening the screws holding it and repointing it. It's just not what you do to fix this. So that's a complete dead end.

What types of things you do:
1) Bend the roof of the VuK so the ball hits it as it leaves and ends up in a different spot. I have fixed all my VuK problems that were not caused by wear divots this way.
2) The divot based ones you just buy a new one, but in the meantime you can use some sticky back felt or fuzzy side of sticky back velcro and put that on the roof of the VuK to change how the ball comes out. This will definitely change the SDTM issue, but instead it may not come out exactly and consistently so it's not always the right fix.

VuK should generally fire to a pleasant location. They should always fire to the same spot and not sometimes kick down the drain. They should not fire into slingshots. It is really unacceptable for you to have a game that does not exit the VuK correctly. I'm satisfied that you will get assistance from stern to resolve this but in the meantime work with the tweaks above so you can enjoy your game.

Who cares what you paid? Are you suggesting a $6400 machine should work 100% and a $4900 machine shoudnt? Its just a stupid argument. Drop what you paid. If you are sad about what you paid you shouldn't have bought in the first place. WHAT YOU PAID IS IRRELEVANT. All products purchased (regardless of price) should work as advertised.