I would suggest something quite different. Rather than going for one of these overpriced titles, check out the solid bang-for-the-buck titles out there. For $2k you an get a solid, fun, great pin. The ones in the poll are loser to the $1k price range.

Solid games to look for in the $2k range have been mentioned above. (deals do come up!) My suggestions include WCS, WPT, Dredd, SST, Shadow(?), NGG, LAH, maybe a few others.

Just the shaker motor alone is worth the price of admittance on this one!

+1 for WPT and Judge Dredd, add Stargate.

If you could get Genesis at a better price, go with that one.

I'd try and find a taxi or diner

39 of my 40 games were shipped to me. In hindsight, it hurts to think about what else I could've bought with the money I used for shipping. However, sometimes that is the only way to get what you want. I've only had one incident with shipping, and that only involved a bent leg on one machine (but that was one machine of 5 that were on the truck for me). That seller insisted on shipping "legs on", and those games made a cross-country trip. Considering all that, it wasn't an unexpected thing. Easily fixed. I wouldn't settle on a title you may not even want just because some guy down the street is selling it. Do your research, get some advice about what you find, and then make a decision. You might want to save a little more money while you are learning more about the hobby and wait until you can afford an A-lister or a more recent title. Those kinds of games are more proven and have deeper rulesets. I'm probably opposite in my opinion of what most will tell you, but many times an older title becomes a project and source of frustration faster. I liked learning about maintenance and repair early on in my collecting, but you may not. Make sure you understand what is involved in maintenance before you buy, or at least make sure there is someone close by that can assist you when things go wrong.

Michael

If you do buy an older game, like Evan, I would highly advise a Williams System 11 machine like Taxi, Pinbot, Diner, Cyclone, etc. They are fun, have some great artistic charm, and are easy to maintain. I own a few, and they have had fewer mechanical issues than any of my other machines.

Michael