I have been playing my SM that I got NIB for a few weeks now. I had a couple of minor issues that I had to fix after taking it out of the box such as a tight right flipper mechanism that had to be taken apart and loosened, and a pop bumper that was too sensitive that needed a switch adjustment. Really I have had no big issues and have even done a quite a few of the common mods.

Now for the funny part. I have been playing the game for over three weeks thinking that everything was working ok. However, it turns out that there is a problem with the Dock Ock shot. I have been noticing that quite a few of my Dock Ock shots hit the blue bumper at the bottom of Dock Ock and bounce back. I had been thinking that was part of the game and that the Opto was recognizing those shots. The newby that I am just realized that the magnet core is slightly raised on the playfield and is causing shots that are supposed to go into the VUK to jump off the magnet core like a ramp and hit the blue bumper and not register as a hit. DOH!
Anyway, it looks like the magnet core has a screwdriver end that just needs to be turned to lower the magnet so it is no longer above the surface of the playfield.

Live and learn. No wonder I was struggling to get better at this game. I guess I got lucky when I got a 280 million score with Dock Ock shots not registering.

Thanks for the info on the magnet. I will update tonight.

I just finished fixing my raised magnet core problem. Luckily I own industrial sized sockets. I knew I owned those larger sockets for some future endeavors. I have owned that tool set for 15 years and the larger socket wrench set has probably only been used maybe 5 times on automobiles. I think the size of the nut that holds the core was 1-1/8th inches.
The nut came right off with hardly any effort with the socket wrench and I did not need to take the mechanism off of the playfield.
It took a couple of minutes to set the core at the right height and then I just gently tightened it back up with a minimal force so as to not damage anything.
I then took a round stealth protector and covered the top of the core to protect the playfield.
I played a couple of practice games to test the shot and it is smooth like there is no core now when the ball travels across it.

Also, I installed the pinbits little round deadener pads in the Dock Ock hole at the bottom and back and did not have any bounce-outs on firm shots.