$22k is probably not even 1% of the value of most houses in Long Island.

But yeah, if it costs $22k to do a HEP restore, then I would fathom to say it's not worth it. That's what, three brand new LE sterns, at 100% retail price, shipped? (Or a WOZ + Sterns?)

What cost $10000 in 1980 would cost $26868.17 in 2011.

Here's one listed for $34k. http://inv.idealclassiccars.net/view/1811/Maroon-1965-AC-Cobra-in-Sarasota-FL

I don't think the price really increased beyond inflation *that* much. If you consider than in 33 years that a number of the cars probably were lost/wrecked, that the price has mostly matched inflation + the value of a dwindling supply.

The problem I have is that most of the MM sales above say 10k is something that's happened in the last 3 years? so let's say you can buy a MM for 5k in 2008. Now it's 22k. 400% inflation over four years. that's a much different story and worth talking about.

Yeah but is this all really worth it? I mean, assuming it's dialed in, how much 'better' does an HEP pin play versus a routed one?

The games I have the most fun on lately are newer Sterns, and mostly because they've seen less plays and tend to have stronger flippers and less wear that affects key shots. If you keep a MM dialed in, service the flippers, slings, pops and catapult, and keep the ramps adjusted, is having a shiny HEP version really that much better? I mean, I appreciate the 'looks' and art of a pin, 100%. But I sure enjoy playing them a lot more. And dishing out $22k vs maybe finding a rougher machine for half that, which might be able to play just as good... and then having a lot left over for other fun games. I guess I'd rather be in the latter camp than the former.

I used to be in the 'has to be perfect' camp back when I was a teenager fixing up cars. But after I got my first paint job on my first 'nice' car, and I found my first gouge from a rock on the highway in the paint job, I had to learn that you can have pretty things, and you can use pretty things, but if you use them, they won't stay pretty forever. I almost fell in that trap with pinball, too. If you go back in my post history I remember once I started realizing what playfield wear was, I freaked out and got really bummed out that my Super Mario Bros (HA!) would never be 'perfect'. The crew here at pinside straightened me out though.

I guess what I'm saying is, for $22k I'd much rather have lots of machines than a nickel-plated 'collectors item'.

There's a few caveats here:

Some of the people blowing 15k+ on MM are doing so because it's an original. It's hard to say how much of that market would only be interested in an original Williams machine vs a reproduction. Over time reproductions have typically not held their value.

Also, it's very hard to say how many people in the collector community have $15k available for an MM, repro or not. Part of what is making the price of these so high is that there is only ever X number of machines available to buy at any one time. If the market all of the sudden absorbed 500 machines, I highly doubt that there are 500 people with powder dry waiting in line at that point, or that the price holds at 15k.

Another factor that has these machines selling at high prices are expectations that people can cash in and get their money back out of them fairly quickly if they want to. Given a deeper supply in the market, do people want to front that money knowing the competition to sell will be larger?

Not to get political, but I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. Seems like lots of companies these days squeeze every nickel out of their employees, and worship at the altar of the shareholder. If I ran a company, I would be ashamed if I couldn't pay my employees a strong wage.