(Topic ID: 160426)

Distance traveled for a bad machine

By Spider3582

7 years ago


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Topic Stats

  • 37 posts
  • 30 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by jrpinball
  • Topic is favorited by 2 Pinsiders

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    #1 7 years ago

    I was just wondering what's the longest distance someone has traveled for a advertised pinball machine only to find it was a lot worse
    than advertised . Basically a wasted trip

    #2 7 years ago

    4 hours each way. Machine didn't even boot up. condition was pretty wrecked.

    #3 7 years ago

    9 hours one way, it was a nice drive.

    #4 7 years ago

    *oops.

    #5 7 years ago

    *oops

    #6 7 years ago

    45 minutes . Went to buy a Heat Wave, I was stoked to find a Heat Wave near by. It needed some cabinet work, more of a project really. Left his house with a Strange World instead.

    #7 7 years ago
    Quoted from Darcy:

    45 minutes . Went to buy a Heat Wave, I was stoked to find a Heat Wave nearby. It needed some cabinet work, more of a project really. Left his house with a Strange World instead.

    Lucky dog!

    #8 7 years ago

    No wasted trip yet, bought every single one I went to get, some machines may not have been as nice as originally described by the seller but the moral to that is get lots of pictures first before the trip.

    #9 7 years ago

    15 minutes for a Hulk

    I am sure this game had been pulled from the bottom of a swamp
    What wood was left was greener than the Hulk

    I could not even offer $100 and part it out

    #10 7 years ago

    1500 miles.

    Probably the stupidest pinball thing I have ever done! The thrill of the chase just took me over and sanity went out the window

    #11 7 years ago
    Quoted from Shapeshifter:

    1500 miles.
    Probably the stupidest pinball thing I have ever done! The thrill of the chase just took me over and sanity went out the window

    I've had that feeling many times, but not 1500 miles worth! I'm used to long distance driving, but that kind of number would stop me in 99% of situations. I recently went 1/10 of that distance, and bought the game despite it being a little less than I expected only because I drove that far for it. But now I'm glad I did. The game cleaned up nicely, and it's not one you see very often; a Williams "Darts".

    #12 7 years ago

    My longest trip was from Eustis Florida to Florence South Carolina to purchase a very nice Wizard! with a nicely clear coated playfield. 900 mile round trip. That Wizard! was a turd with nothing going for it. Scratchy, faded cabinet with a cracked backglass and the playfield was totaled by the nasty clear coat. Seller couldn't understand why I would drive that far and not buy the machine.
    I have since learned that it's better to be patient and see what drops in. Picked up an Atlantis last year which was only 20 miles away and there is a Volley not too far away that I might buy today. However, I do love the road trips!

    #13 7 years ago

    3 hours each way for a project game. Negotiated a lower price to reflect its condition and bought it anyway. I certainly would have turned around and left empty handed if the seller stuck to their original price.

    Game had lots of playfield wear, while the ad said it looked great.

    #14 7 years ago
    Quoted from jrpinball:

    I've had that feeling many times, but not 1500 miles worth! I'm used to long distance driving, but that kind of number would stop me in 99% of situations. I recently went 1/10 of that distance, and bought the game despite it being a little less than I expected only because I drove that far for it. But now I'm glad I did. The game cleaned up nicely, and it's not one you see very often; a Williams "Darts".

    Well, it will never happen again!

    Glad it worked out for you.

    #15 7 years ago

    Probably about 4-5 hours each way. The playfield had a lot of wear on it, but the worst was someone had cut a bunch of wires in the head and it really didn't work at all. But I took it, for $200, and I fixed it and sold it on a couple of years down the line. So it worked out.

    I drove about three hours each way recently for twin Sky Jumps that were a bit rougher than the pictures showed, but that's ok too. Pinhead52 now has one and I still have the other. It's stored now awaiting restoration and it should come out nice when it's done.

    #16 7 years ago

    Another country.

    Ann Arbor, MI to Toronto Ontario to get a Jacks Open.

    It wasn't even a viable parts game.

    #17 7 years ago

    I once drove from Bakersfield Ca to Eureka Ca (~550miles one way)
    to buy a '63 WMS Big Deal (listed on CL) that was in at best average/fair condition.
    I already had a Big Deal with good PF but bad BG, so this trip was to mainly get
    a duplicate pin to make one good game out of two.
    But I turned it into a road trip to visit a college buddy in the bay area
    and had him ride with me on the final leg thru the giant redwoods,
    so was not a total wasted trip.
    The pin upon up close inspection was not as nice as i hoped,
    but still good enough and cheap enough for me to bring it home with me.

    A few years later Ron Webb finally did a repro of the '63 Big Deal BG
    and I purchased one.

    #18 7 years ago

    3 hours each way for a Countdown that I bought on eBay. Got there and the top ply of the playfield above the flippers was delaminated and split.

    The seller (this guy was clearly an operator) had no feeling he should have disclosed this in his listing, even by a better picture. I tried to negotiate a small reduction in price but he wouldn't budge. I walked.

    Around here we have a saying - No deal is better than a bad deal.

    #19 7 years ago

    When I very first started the hobby, drove 4 hours to a pinball auction. Rented a Uhaul, it broke down on the way back. Overpaid for the machines....then paid someone to fix all the hack jobs. So, 4 hours each way....and a free ice pack...

    #20 7 years ago

    4 hours each way for me.

    I went on 5 different road trips in search of a nice WW. Each trip was no less that 2 hours each way.

    I finally brought one home on the 5th trip.

    #21 7 years ago

    I drove from NC to Atlanta. Said small smoke damage from a warehouse fire. Looked like the machine WAS the fire.

    #22 7 years ago

    Georgia to Michigan, 27 hour round trip for a mis-advertised Earthshaker with pictures that didn't represent the Pin. Walked away from the deal. On the way home stopped off at a local casino and took home almost $800

    #23 7 years ago

    MA to NJ, Batman Forever, I specifically asked if the display was good, was told yes, 5 plus hour road trip, turn game on, Display is screwed up, and the Batman gun handle is replaced with a Last Action Hero gun handle, the people selling it already moved out of the house, so their daughter and boyfriend met me there, she felt awful, I did make an offer, the mother would not budge, Daughter kept telling her, this guy drove 5 hours to get here, and the display is not right and the other issues, left with nothing. 10+ hour round trip for nada.

    #24 7 years ago
    Quoted from balboarules:

    MA to NJ, Batman Forever, I specifically asked if the display was good, was told yes, 5 plus hour road trip, turn game on, Display is screwed up, and the Batman gun handle is replaced with a Last Action Hero gun handle, the people selling it already moved out of the house, so their daughter and boyfriend met me there, she felt awful, I did make an offer, the mother would not budge, Daughter kept telling her, this guy drove 5 hours to get here, and the display is not right and the other issues, left with nothing. 10+ hour round trip for nada.

    #25 7 years ago

    Yep Forceflow, except the head was going into a steering wheel instead of a wall!

    #26 7 years ago
    Quoted from balboarules:

    Yep Forceflow, except the head was going into a steering wheel instead of a wall!

    Damn!

    #27 7 years ago

    About 4 hours each way for a TZ and when I got there it did not even work. On the phone the seller told me everything worked 100% and when I got there he told me he did not have the time to look at it yet. Then he called me the next day and told me it was all ready to come pick it up.

    #28 7 years ago

    14 hour round trip for me, but bought it anyway. Longest I drove and came back empty was 6 hour round trip.

    #29 7 years ago

    Just got back from a 7 hr. round trip empty handed. Flaked BG & the worst battery damage I have ever seen. 2 boards toasted. They were so bad they were not Bally green, more of a Tye Dyed hue. Game booted shockingly, but wouldn't play. Gassed displays too. Of course they wanted top $$. Said a tech spent 15hrs on repairs. I asked "Where?". 4th machine I've walked away from in 3 months.

    #30 7 years ago
    Quoted from fiberdude120:

    About 4 hours each way for a TZ and when I got there it did not even work. On the phone the seller told me everything worked 100% and when I got there he told me he did not have the time to look at it yet. Then he called me the next day and told me it was all ready to come pick it up.

    Cocaine is a hell of a drug..

    #31 7 years ago

    I guess 5 miles isn't all that bad then.

    1 week later
    #32 7 years ago

    i once loaded up an expensive pinball machine (i forget which one - i think twilight zone) to meet a jerk in ct - i told him he can't blow me off because i had to have an empty car for the trucking i do every night - i was the seller and doing this jerk a favor and saving him 90 minutes of driving each way.

    he didn't show - i had to hide the machine behind a gas station at 10 at night - do my trucking and then got back there after 2 with the hopes it was still there - and yes it was suppose to rain late that might.

    getting the game out of the car myself was easy - when i arrived it was still there and not raining - but it wasn't easy to get it back in the car by myself.

    i have had longer drives to pick up and left empty handed - but this one as a seller still pisses me off - and yes he is on here on pinside and has a real bad rep - gary from nj - the painter or whatever

    thanks ed

    #33 7 years ago
    Quoted from edcianci:

    i once loaded up an expensive pinball machine (i forget which one - i think twilight zone) to meet a jerk in ct - i told him he can't blow me off because i had to have an empty car for the trucking i do every night - i was the seller and doing this jerk a favor and saving him 90 minutes of driving each way.
    he didn't show - i had to hide the machine behind a gas station at 10 at night - do my trucking and then got back there after 2 with the hopes it was still there - and yes it was suppose to rain late that might.
    getting the game out of the car myself was easy - when i arrived it was still there and not raining - but it wasn't easy to get it back in the car by myself.
    i have had longer drives to pick up and left empty handed - but this one as a seller still pisses me off - and yes he is on here on pinside and has a real bad rep - gary from nj - the painter or whatever
    thanks ed

    Ouch. Leaving a TZ behind a gas station is a nightmare - I could only imagine your frustration that night.

    I've had plenty of no-shows or last minute cancellations when selling games .. which is par for the course I guess. Nothing like this though.

    #34 7 years ago

    I've told this story before and it sort of applies here, it was actually a "walked away empty handed" but I think it fits this category too given that I drove a ways to find out the game wasn't what it was supposed to be. Here's the story.

    I was trying to buy a Guns and Roses from a guy about 4 hours one way from me. I kept asking for specific pictures of the high wear areas and he would always be just on the edge of what I wanted or just blurry enough that you couldn't see details. He assured me it was in good shape and that the game worked. We agreed on a general price subject to me being able to inspect it. So, I get there and as expected, the game had some pretty significant wear areas and the game doesn't work. So I tell him, based on what I'm seeing we need to adjust the price. His son (probably 13 or 14 years old) is in the room with us and he turns to his son and says "son, watch as your Dad shows you how to negotiate" He then proceeds to tell me that he knows I've driven 4 hours and he's sure that I won't go home empty handed and he's not adjusting the price as he knows it's worth more than what he's asking. I ask him if he's sure he won't considering bringing the price down a bit to account for what we've discovered. He says "nope, you're going to have 8 hours of driving time, tolls and gas into this trip so I'm sure you'll pay my asking price" I look at his son and say "you're Dad isn't going to be selling this game today as he's not willing to negotiate"

    I left and drove home empty handed. I got a call from his wife about 4 hours later (I was almost home) asking me if I'd come back as her husband had "reconsidered" (I'd have loved to see how that conversation went between this guy and his wife). I didn't go back as the price wasn't all that great to start with and there was still no guarantee that we'd be able to work out a deal.

    1 week later
    #35 7 years ago

    Walking away with your money still your pocket isn't so bad. Much better than feeling sick about what you just did and some other guy celebrating about unloading that crappy machine who now has your money.

    #36 7 years ago

    I'm from Tennessee. A guy in El Paso, TX had a bunch of games (skeeball, basketball, mostly larger redemption games). He sent me pics of all the stuff and I talked with him many times and felt pretty good about it - I planned to buy several games. So me and a friend flew out there from Nashville, TN (with a layover) with the intent of renting a truck and driving our haul back. We arrive at the place the next morning (had to stay the night in a hotel after a late flight), and all the games are in part piles scattered throughout various rooms. The only assembled games were the skeeball machines and they looked rough. He failed to tell me that the pics he had sent were from years earlier when the games were still set up in an amusement center. There was no way to know what parts went with what games, especially in the limited time we had to get the truck, get it all loaded, and hit the road. Within 15 minutes I was back on the phone booking 2 more airline tickets home, and another night in the same hotel we had just checked out of.

    Pros:
    1) I used airline credits for the flights and the hotel.
    2) I got to see a part of the country I've never been to before.
    3) I didn't have to pay for a rental truck and sit in it for 18 hours.

    Cons:
    1) Left with nothing but a story...but I still talk about it to this day.

    I was new to the hobby back then. Lessons learned.

    1 week later
    #37 7 years ago
    Quoted from daddyboo:

    I'm from Tennessee. A guy in El Paso, TX had a bunch of games (skeeball, basketball, mostly larger redemption games). He sent me pics of all the stuff and I talked with him many times and felt pretty good about it - I planned to buy several games. So me and a friend flew out there from Nashville, TN (with a layover) with the intent of renting a truck and driving our haul back. We arrive at the place the next morning (had to stay the night in a hotel after a late flight), and all the games are in part piles scattered throughout various rooms. The only assembled games were the skeeball machines and they looked rough. He failed to tell me that the pics he had sent were from years earlier when the games were still set up in an amusement center. There was no way to know what parts went with what games, especially in the limited time we had to get the truck, get it all loaded, and hit the road. Within 15 minutes I was back on the phone booking 2 more airline tickets home, and another night in the same hotel we had just checked out of.
    Pros:
    1) I used airline credits for the flights and the hotel.
    2) I got to see a part of the country I've never been to before.
    3) I didn't have to pay for a rental truck and sit in it for 18 hours.
    Cons:
    1) Left with nothing but a story...but I still talk about it to this day.
    I was new to the hobby back then. Lessons learned.

    I would have smacked the guy!

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