Hey what's up everybody! I'm moving from an apartment to a house and looking to buy my first machine. I'm in the DC-MD-VA area, looking to spend in the $750-$2000 range, or maybe a little more for a great deal. I've been doing my research and have found a lot of good advice here and elsewhere on the internet, still have a few questions though:

1. When an ad says there's some wear on the playfield, is that just a cosmetic thing or does it affect the game play? If it does affect game play, does it usually mean there are a couple of spots where the ball rolls a little funny, or can a worn playfield completely screw up the gameplay?

2. I'd like to learn how to take care of my machine, but I'm not very good at stuff like that and I don't have a good set of tools. Considering that I'm looking at an older machine, are there any that are particularly easy or hard to maintain?

3. I don't live too far from York, PA- would it be worth holding off until the show there in October? Would it be risky for me to buy a machine that way since I don't really know exactly what to look for in terms of damage, warning signs, etc.?

Thanks!

Thanks all! Great idea to stop by VUK on a Sunday, I’ll do that.

Thanks again for the advice- I’ve got one more question You guys and other people I’ve heard from have convinced me that I’m better off spending a bit more for a newer machine that won’t need as much maintenance and repair. The ones I’ve found that I’m considering are a Spider-man and a Ghostbusters Pro, both in great condition and in the $4-$5k range (leaning towards the SM).

My question now is, how hard or easy do you guys think it would be to re-sell a machine like those later on? If the price I’m asking is fair value, could I be confident that I could find a buyer within a few months, or is that not necessarily the case? I live in the DC/Baltimore area if that matters.

Thanks, that’s helpful, I’ll check the want lists.

Also just to clarify, I wasn’t trying to say I’d sell it a few months after I bought it... just wanted to know if I can be sure that I’ll be able to sell it if I decide to do that later on.

I don’t mind losing some money on it, but it would be a whole lot easier to drop $5k (and more to the point to convince the wife!) if I knew I could get most of it back if worse came to worse.

Just made my first legit offer, hoping it’s accepted!

Dirty Harry... picking it up next weekend

Yeah, the guy I bought it from said something about needing a new gimp- I guess that's pinball slang for "buyer" or something, right?

Here's another newb question- how much space would you say is the minimum you should have between games in order to be able to play comfortably? I could fit 4 average width pins in my basement with about 8" between them on each side- is that enough?

4 pins it is! I love you guys