I am somewhat new to ownership in the hobby, bought my first machine in 2018.

As other folks have mentioned, be ready to jump in a car w/ cash in hand when you spot a really good bargain.

As far as "last resort" ... a lot of the crusties on this site sit on the porch whittling and talk about how they found an Addams Family in a barn in 2002 for $900 and you're a sucker if you pay more. Treat it like the advice from a boomer ... they'll have good info to share but they need to let you know how good they are horse trading for their egos. If you want a working machine I'd buy from a collector, i.e., someone on here. The community is (more or less) reliable and knowledgeable and really cool. Every experience I've had on pinside has been positive. Could I have paid $500 less for my Swords of Fury if I'd bought it in 2012? Probably! But I didn't have to worry about driving to a rando's house w/ $1900 in cash in my pocket because I could check reputation and activity on pinside first.

Buy a working machine. If it's listed as "probably an easy fix" that means it could probably have been done by the seller. Even if you buy a fulling functioning System 11, don't fret, you'll learn how to repair things quickly enough. (I think my first repair was about 3 months in).

You live in a location w/ plenty of pinball machines, so you shouldn't have to drive far to find what you're looking for. Have fun!