Look up Alltek replacement boards for Bally.
Pick a machine from the list.Really a no brainer.
Having good MPU, solenoid driver and lamp boards available
at an affordable price makes the whole deal worthwhile.
Rebuilding flippers, pop bumpers and replacing fuses is straightforward.
" oh wait, I can't find a machine from the Alltek compatibility chart"
No shit, they are desirable. Even with the bad sounds and the beeps/boops.
Wanna keep a playable pinball machine long term?
Find one with readily available repair parts.

Ohh, I’d also like to cast a vote for STTNG. I’ve owned it twice and have a buy back agreement from the new owner.
It’s huge on “bang for your buck” and playability.
I like it a lot at $5k. Especially compared to other $5k pins

Lol. I'm already missing it! I need a bigger basement for more pins haha. Enjoy the game, it's a great one, may have to buy it again one day.

The Walking Dead. Great game at a reasonable price.

Fucking none anymore unless you want an EM.

Last year I bought a P3 and a bunch of games, and... this is the best value in pinball. You get a full on, fantastic game (say, Heist), then you can add on for 1/3 the price of a new game for a new physical playfield, OR a significantly less expensive software download (like $120 for some). I can play at least 12 games on my P3 right now. Some are better than others but the good ones are great.

Some of the machines I can’t tell the difference between pro and premium. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a Deadpool, ghostbusters, GOTG pro and premium. BKSoR pro is arguably better than the premium, but I think it loses its identity without the upper play field.

Sinbad is addictive and so is Joker Poker. For later Gottlieb games, Devil's Dare is a lot of machine for not too much money.

What's a good value? Anything you can find under $3k at this point...lol

What he said...
The best value is a machine that someone else decides that they don't want anymore and prices it accordingly.
Perhaps it needs repair, but not always.

I'm going to chime back in on this thread and say that MOST pins are a good value if you don't fall victim to FOMO, live in a pinball dense area, and you have the cash to spare. I have now rotated over 30 pins through my basement and the most expensive pin out of that bunch cost me $800. I've had Medieval Madness, Twilight Zone, newer Sterns, and a handful of games ranging down to an E.M. These games were all great bang for the buck pins because aside from putting in some elbow grease (which I enjoyed), I didn't overpay, and after making the games nicer than I got them sold or traded for more than I had in them. You can buy just about any pin out there today, play the crud out of it for 6 months, and then sell it for what you paid for it if not more. You will do even better if you put your game up as "trades preferred" and just take the best offer you get. The best value in pinball right now is that temporary trade with your pinball buddy. I usually do one temporary trade of 6 months or so with a buddy every year. I experienced a Metallica and AIQ LE this way while my buddy experienced STTNG and Twilight Zone.

My only big losses were due to dishonest traders and sellers, who I have a personal blacklist on. So far this has been limited to 2 people.

I have succumbed to FOMO twice, with a NIB Rick and Morty purchase (which has turned out to be a fantastic value as its increased in value 50%) and a NIB GZ premium which I paid over MSRP for due to current supply chain issues. In the future I will primarily be a used buyer/trader.

Pinball is an amazing hobby. I know of no other hobby where you can buy something, use it, and then sell it for about what you paid for it so easily.

You will do much better in this hobby if you buy the pin that is a good deal instead of the pin that is hot at the moment. Buy a pin, play a pin, sell a pin, repeat. If you follow this logic and clean up your games well, you can have a new (to you) pin in your basement every month for free.

Also, the data needs to be rerun as it uses pre-COVID prices, but this old thread is one of the best things on pinside and applies nerd math problems to the question.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/statistical-bang-for-your-buck#post-6289526

I have copied the graphic from that thread. Credit goes to lpeters82 for the amazing graphic. See above thread for explanation.
bb.pdf

Edit: Spoiler, mathematically it is Firepower, Taxi, and Dracula.

Bang for your buck in what price tier? When it comes to A-list titles, I think Multimorphic P3 is becoming one of the best bargains. They're now prices like a Stern LE and equivalent JJPs, but they offer so much more in current and future flexibility.

Lower priced tiers, EMs can still be found for a couple hundred if you're patient and quick to snatch up a deal.

It really is