Hi all, I just recently got into pinball. I have very little Electronics knowledge but I have messed around with an Arduino and I am a computer programmer so I like to learn new things. I recently got to play several machines and I'm looking to get my first one or maybe two. I'm interested in Sure Shot($1000 OBO) by Gottlieb and triple strike($525) by Williams and finally Fiesta($525) by playmatic. I don't really want to spend more than a thousand. I like the gameplay of all 3 and the Sure Shot is definitely in the best condition as far as back glass in Playfield and cabinet. The triple strike back glass is flaking in some spots pretty badly. The fiesta Playfield and back glass are very good. All machines seem to play fine. What I want to ask is should I steer clear of any of these? I'm leaning towards getting the Sure Shot which is popular or get the other 2. I know Fiesta is rare and would be difficult to find parts but I seem to really enjoy it. Can anyone offer any advice? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Thanks everyone! I'll wait for now.

Thank you for the very good suggestions. I was just at the Michigan pinball Expo twice and got overly excited because so many were for sale. I really wanted to like the target Alpha more because I like Drop targets but 1250 was too much and I didn't have as much fun with it as I thought I might. I found it interesting how I can play a machine and get into it and then come back an hour or two later and it's not as much fun. I guess that's normal? Makes it harder to find one to buy . Are early Stearns bad? Because I seem to like some of those like sea witch and lighting even though I never played any.

I meant bad as in hard to maintain because I know the playmatic would be. Really liked the PM Hispanic artwork and I lived in Chile years ago but I digress. I seem to like tables from 70 to 95.

Lol it says he has 300?? Wish he were in Michigan. I've been looking for a few months as my interest has grown. I've been afraid to pull the trigger so far or haven't seen much I like in or near MI. The for sale thread in MI should help along with the other advice though.

The SkyJump does look nice. I also found these. All seem a bit High at 700-1000.

300:
grandrapids.craigslist.org link

Jack in the Box:
detroit.craigslist.org link

Big deal:
detroit.craigslist.org link