Quoted from Jmckune:There’s a Taxi for sale on here right now for $1500. That’s a steal.
Beaten up though and will need work. Also it would have to be shipped where I am.
(Topic ID: 269737)
Linked Games
Class of 1812
Gottlieb, 1991-
FunHouse
Williams, 1990
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Getaway: High Speed II, The
Williams, 1992
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Jurassic Park
Data East, 1993
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Machine: Bride of Pinbot, The
Williams, 1991
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Surf 'n Safari
Gottlieb, 1991
Topic Gallery
Quoted from Daditude:It all depends on condition. Of course, you can always make an offer for what you think it is worth.
It's in very nice shape with a new hard top and plastics. I've just seen similar sold for less on average.
Mojave Desert, NV
In another thread, Pinsider PoMC in WV mentions a NASCAR pin for sale for $2500. He might be willing to ship.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/machines-fs-under-3000-in-pa-md-dc-va
Quoted from mooch:In another thread, Pinsider PoMC in WV mentions a NASCAR pin for sale for $2500. He might be willing to ship.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/machines-fs-under-3000-in-pa-md-dc-va
Oh, I was not aware of the sub $3000 thread! Thanks! I'll keep an eye on it.
Quoted from Jmckune:There’s a Taxi for sale on here right now for $1500. That’s a steal.
This is the answer.
Quoted from holminone:This is the answer.
"The game plays but some switches are not registering. Playfield has some pretty good wear around flippers. Some cracked plastics and sling plastics are broken. Cab is solid with wear consistent with the age of game...definitely needs a good cleaning and to be shopped"
Sounds like it's fairly beaten up and needs work. Not currently interested in machines like that as a newbie.
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:So the past couple weeks I've been tweaking and changing my wishlist, researching machines, and trying to decide upon whether I should include looking for machines from the early to mid 80's.
I've finally concluded that while machines from the early to mid 80's have some amazing designs, they weren't the machines I grew up with. Not only that, but when I compare many of them to my Surf 'n Safari, the rulesets and things to do seem a little too basic for my tastes.
I realize now that the machines I'm attracted most to are the ones that started to evolve in complexity and design when I was growing up during the very late 80's into the early 90's and beyond. Some examples of such machines are Funhouse, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Bride of Pinbot, etc.
What I'm trying to do now is come up with some potential candidates that would feel equivalent or be an upgrade from my Surf n' Safari. I do have some machines I'm very interested in that are DMD, namely Jurassic Park and Getaway. However, I know there are a lot of other DMDs that could be more affordable than them that are also fun.
But are there any alphanumeric machines from the very late 80's that I should consider as well? Some machines I'm thinking of are Swords of Fury, Black Knight 2000, etc.
Again, my goal is to try and find a machine that will compliment my Surf n' Safari and not feel like a downgrade for a 2nd machine.
Suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!
UPDATE 5/29/2020:
I posted in the Northeast for Sale an updated guideline for my budget range, and this is what I wrote:
I'm basically looking for a fun, solid machine from the 80's for around the $1000-$2000 price range depending on the machine and quality. Examples of machines I like from this time period are:
High Speed
F-14 Tomcat
Space Shuttle
Space Station
Pinbot
Genesis
Road Kings, the list could go on and on!
Alternatively, I'm looking for slightly more advanced Alpha-Numeric and DMD machines with a budget range of $2000-$3000. Examples of machines I like from this time period are:
Jurassic Park
The Getaway: High Speed 2
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Jack*Bot, the list would go on and on as well!
The main thing is my budget range is including shipping, if required.
High speed 1500
You have some decent collectors up by you, notably shacklersrevenge and the stang, they both get tons of games and usually sell a great prices.
Of your list, I would go with space shuttle have owned half of your list and space shuttle is one that kept me coming back to play. Would love to find another one at a decent price.
Quoted from hockeymutt:You have some decent collectors up by you, notably shacklersrevenge and the stang, they both get tons of games and usually sell a great prices.
Of your list, I would go with space shuttle have owned half of your list and space shuttle is one that kept me coming back to play. Would love to find another one at a decent price.
Shackler does have some really nice stuff to sell and at good prices! And Space Shuttle looks like a ton of fun, along with Space Station.
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:Certainly not a bad price. It looks like it needs work and would have to be shipped.
And my buddy picked it up last night 
Quoted from grantopia:And my buddy picked it up last night
Nice! If I was more experienced working on machines I would have certainly grabbed it!
Quoted from grantopia:And my buddy picked it up last night
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:Nice! If I was more experienced working on machines I would have certainly grabbed it!
Yep, that was a missed deal. I think that's one of the top things new collectors make mistakes on...not pulling the trigger.
Quoted from Daditude:Yep, that was a missed deal. I think that's one of the top things new collectors make mistakes on...not pulling the trigger.
That is definitely what I'm doing unfortunately. It's mainly due to two factors:
1. Not being experienced enough to touch up and repair or fix a pin
2. Not being totally comfortable or familiar with picking up a pin and avoiding damaging it during transport and setting it up in the basement.
That's why in some ways, I'm almost looking for a pin that's "cheaper" so if I do screw up during pickup and transport I won't feel completely awful.
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:That is definitely what I'm doing unfortunately. It's mainly due to two factors:
1. Not being experienced enough to touch up and repair or fix a pin
2. Not being totally comfortable or familiar with picking up a pin and avoiding damaging it during transport and setting it up in the basement.
That's why in some ways, I'm almost looking for a pin that's "cheaper" so if I do screw up during pickup and transport I won't feel completely awful.
I am about to list a Bobby orr for 1300. It isn't perfect, but it is fully working. They go for about 2000, so this is heavily discounted...even if shipping were paid for. PM me if interested.
I'm sure it will go fast once listed.
Quoted from Daditude:I am about to list a Bobby orr for 1300. It isn't perfect, but it is fully working. They go for about 2000, so this is heavily discounted...even if shipping were paid for. PM me if interested.
I'm sure it will go fast once listed.
That's actually one of the few pins I have zero interest in, haha. I'm just not a fan of hockey.
So far the game i'm possibly looking at is Firepower, or a Road Kings a person on facebook offered me. It had some nasty wear on it though.
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:So far the game i'm possibly looking at is Firepower, or a Road Kings a person on facebook offered me. It had some nasty wear on it though.
got firepower at a steal for $400 as quick as i got it in my room, it left just as fast.
Quoted from guitarded:I am about to list a Bobby orr for 1300.
That's a Killer deal.
Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately I have no interest in that machine.
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately I have no interest in that machine.
Have you ever played one? You can't just go on title or theme alone. That era Bally's are classic!
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately I have no interest in that machine.
Just an FYI - It's a great one and one that will appeal to a lot of collectors.
Bonus : Pretty easy to work on.
I have a Dolly Parton, not because I wanted one but because I found one at a price that it would be silly to say No to. It needed repairs, but that was almost as much fun as playing her once she was done.
If you can get 100% + of your money back on a machine (including repair parts), you owe it to yourself to seriously consider it.
Quoted from poppapin:Have you ever played one? You can't just go on title or theme alone. That era Bally's are classic!
I've watched the gameplay from Papa and it just doesn't look appealing to me. I can see how some would love to have it though.
Quoted from guitarded:Just an FYI - It's a great one and one that will appeal to a lot of collectors.
Bonus : Pretty easy to work on.
I have a Dolly Parton, not because I wanted one but because I found one at a price that it would be silly to say No to. It needed repairs, but that was almost as much fun as playing her once she was done.
If you can get 100% + of your money back on a machine (including repair parts), you owe it to yourself to seriously consider it.
I definitely would like to work on a machine someday to then re-sell it, but it would be nice to have a machine I'd have fun playing too as a reward for the hard work, haha.
Quoted from SilverballSleuth:TX Sector in the NE For Sale Thread dude.
The temptation to buy it is insane for me right now! But I realized I need to get more comfortable with maintenance and repair with machines to stop being reluctant with buying another one.
So as much as it pains me to skip over TX-Sector, I think being able to work on my Surf 'n Safari is ultimately going to be more beneficial for me. I haven't even taken the time to count the bulbs so I can change them out to LED yet!
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:The temptation to buy it is insane for me right now! But I realized I need to get more comfortable with maintenance and repair with machines to stop being reluctant with buying another one.
So as much as it pains me to skip over TX-Sector, I think being able to work on my Surf 'n Safari is ultimately going to be more beneficial for me. I haven't even taken the time to count the bulbs so I can change them out to LED yet!
I have been following your story since you joined Pinside. I gave you some advice early on. You seem to have the Pinball Bug bad. You got your first machine a few weeks ago. You should play the heck out of it and get it working 100%. There is a lot to learn and you have the machine to learn on. Everyone has some opinion about what machine you should get. If you wait for a machine it will happen. You just need patience.
I still stand by my advice of getting your next machine from a nice Pinsider with a good reputation who can give you some tips. Hopefully it is a local person who you can deal with again in the future. You are probably learning that it is not about making money and coming out on top of every deal. If you just let that go and deal with people who deal fairly you will come out OK. As you are probably learning, there are factors like condition and functionality that make comparing machines purely on price a bad idea. A game from a person who shopped it, played it, got it working 100%, and then sold it is often worth an extra bit of money and will save you some time.
Good luck looking for machine #2 but enjoy machine #1 right now!
I wouldn’t worry about machines needing a few switches adjusted. Once you learn, you’ll realize just how easy it is to replace switches and put some rubber on. I’d recommend getting a simple game to try this on. Most system 11 games fall into this category, they make it easy to take out the ramps by installing connectors to the switches so you can get to the hard to reach places by simply unplugging and unscrewing the ramps. A lot of the time a switch that’s bad either needs to be bent just a little to get it working and some other times a wire has popped off. There are times when a switch is bad and needs to be replaced but I’ve found most of the time it’s just one wire broken off right next to the switch the game tells you is malfunctioning and then you’re ready to rocknroll
Quoted from QuietEarp:I have been following your story since you joined Pinside. I gave you some advice early on. You seem to have the Pinball Bug bad. You got your first machine a few weeks ago. You should play the heck out of it and get it working 100%. There is a lot to learn and you have the machine to learn on. Everyone has some opinion about what machine you should get. If you wait for a machine it will happen. You just need patience.
I still stand by my advice of getting your next machine from a nice Pinsider with a good reputation who can give you some tips. Hopefully it is a local person who you can deal with again in the future. You are probably learning that it is not about making money and coming out on top of every deal. If you just let that go and deal with people who deal fairly you will come out OK. As you are probably learning, there are factors like condition and functionality that make comparing machines purely on price a bad idea. A game from a person who shopped it, played it, got it working 100%, and then sold it is often worth an extra bit of money and will save you some time.
Good luck looking for machine #2 but enjoy machine #1 right now!
I agree with everything you've said! I would like to get to know a local pinsider in the future. For now, I'll gradually work on tweaking and fixing things on Surf 'N Safari. Earlier today I was looking at what tools I need to get and made up a list!
Quoted from Jmckune:I wouldn’t worry about machines needing a few switches adjusted. Once you learn, you’ll realize just how easy it is to replace switches and put some rubber on. I’d recommend getting a simple game to try this on. Most system 11 games fall into this category, they make it easy to take out the ramps by installing connectors to the switches so you can get to the hard to reach places by simply unplugging and unscrewing the ramps. A lot of the time a switch that’s bad either needs to be bent just a little to get it working and some other times a wire has popped off. There are times when a switch is bad and needs to be replaced but I’ve found most of the time it’s just one wire broken off right next to the switch the game tells you is malfunctioning and then you’re ready to rocknroll
The game I have is a Gottlieb System 3 I think (Surf 'N Safari) which should hopefully be relatively similar.
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:The game I have is a Gottlieb System 3 I think (Surf 'N Safari) which should hopefully be relatively similar.
It’s not, I also have a system 3 game and it’s on my short list for going out the door lol. There’s not a test report to help you figure out what’s wrong and the wiring looks almost the same everywhere so it’s a lot harder to spot something out of place. Belly/Williams and Stern both are pretty good with test reports and leading you to a problem area
Quoted from Jmckune:It’s not, I also have a system 3 game and it’s on my short list for going out the door lol. There’s not a test report to help you figure out what’s wrong and the wiring looks almost the same everywhere so it’s a lot harder to spot something out of place. Belly/Williams and Stern both are pretty good with test reports and leading you to a problem area
Interesting. Well, the good news is there aren't any significant problems with it. It's mainly just replacing rubbers, putting in LEDs, and possibly replacing the flippers or just pieces of the flipper mechanism like the coil.
1 week later
Quoted from sunnRAT:High Speed has one of the best shots in pinball. Full orbit with 2 spinners and is repeatable.
agree. best bang for buck in pinball
Quoted from woody76:agree. best bang for buck in pinball
That will likely be my next machine, or F-14 Tomcat. Swords of Fury also looks awesome too. Lionman! Lionman!
2 months later
Quoted from jonesjb:What did you go with?
I expanded my criteria, and I got a nice Sky Jump followed by a Whirlwind project.
The Sky Jump Em is incredibly addictive and fun. It just makes you want to play and play and play.
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