Lot of good pins your interested in varying from 2k -7k . Can you fit more than one...? bc if so id look to get multiple cheaper titles like the hs2, jd, dm rather than just one of the others. One pin gets old quickly in home use imo and more is always better if you can go that route.

I wld not recommend cl for a pin unless you wanna get your hands dirty lol. A show can be a good place or look on here and make a deal and possibly set it up to have it brought to the show. Lots of good people in your area to deal with on here.

Hs2 is the getaway

I agree with bigd... Being new to the hobby and buying games, I'd avoid Craig's List, for now anyway. Once you get to know the in's and out's of games, you'll soon learn what to look for that could be an issue or costly repair after you get it home. And if the Craig's List seller isn't a hobbiest, they themselves may not even know what to tell you is an issue. Sometimes they're selling something that was in their parents basement for 30 years and can't tell you anything about it. I've bought games on CL before, but only after I got very comfortable with repairing my own games.

A show is a very good place to buy a game. I've bought 2 games from shows. Both sellers were very forthcoming about any issues or repairs that have been made to the game and answered every question I had. It was a very positive experience.

-Steve

..problem is that owning a pin is a bit different than playing them in the arcade. You get to actually hear all the audio which hopefully is a good thing depending on the pin.. And you really get to know the rules and master the shots. That last part becomes the downside I think though -- at least particularly in a setting where you only have one pin -- the novelty eventually wears and something different sounds better. If you only throw down a few games a week though .. Well then you could stretch that novelty pretty far.

Just something to think about.. I wouldn't think too hard about or too long term on the first one - you can always trade or sell it. I'd wait on gb prem.. It will be selling for a while. Try one of your other picks and see how it goes ..

Hmm only one huh.... creature from the black lagoon is a awesome pin and theme but can be frustrating and repetitive . Jd, dm, hs2 to me dont have enough legs in a one pin collection and will get old quickly as they did with me after a year. Ss and taf are awesome pins but addams can be alot of work to keep it working 100 percent and ss isnt the most difficult pin and can also get boring rather quickly imo. Gb wld be nice bc of a warranty and its new ...plus I think its gonna be a pretty dam fun game with lots of toys and rules/code plus great theme and lightshow. Downfall is you may be waiting a little while since stern is running behind . Good news is if you get tired of something it sldnt be hard to sell for what you have in it as long as you buy from a reputable person and dont overpay.

Welcome. I was in your shoes just 6 months ago. I bought two early model solid states for $250 each. I learned the in-n-outs, put about $200 in to each and sold them for $1000 each. I bought two more entry level family-fun Sterns (Monopoly and Roller Coaster Tycoon) from a dealer with 90 day warranty (this is a good deal). Shopped both, tuned them, got them working perfect and my family is in love. I bought an older rare SS (Torpedo Alley) for $900 from Craigs list, put $300 in to it and its a keeper. I just picked up a Sega X files and nearly done shopping and modding it.

Like someone said, buy from Craig's List you will need to be brave enough to dive in and work on them. Owning is very difference then playing them.

Our friends and family love coming over now. We have slots, arcades and now four pins. I now solder circuit level components, troubleshoot lights and coil circuits, add modifications, etc. I love the hobby - there's more to it then playing.

I use to only love ballyl/Williams pins also but bought a Metallica and love it so much now I have acdc luci, iron man, the walking dead and gb premium on order. I am with you on the data east and sega pins as ive tried many of them and they just are not tnat good compared to the bally/Williams of that era. Stern pins are quite fun with lots to do , good toys , nice lignt shows, deep rules and are pretty reliable pins . Since you have 9k you may wanna look into a wizard of oz or hobbit if you like the themes as they are beautiful pins with tons to do and hold up well in home environment

If you live in CO, you should give JJ at Game exchange a call. Good guy with competitive prices. And they have a showroom floor, or so I hear. That is, if you want a stern.

I was a b/w fan, grew up playing in the 90s and sterns are great to own; low maintenance, easy to work on, factory + warranty support, fast gameplay, deep rules, and getting a brand new pin is awesome.

I'd highly recommend new in box Met. It is a spectacular pin and deserves the high praise. No maintenance, just unbox and play. Fantastic code, art, led's. Best of all - it's so much fun to play.
Good luck with your choice!

Didn't look at your list but I'll chime in. Bought my FG off Craigslist. Found a hobbyist with FG, S&S, EK, DP, Golgar, and HH. I bought the FG with only a players experience. Although I can do most PCB repairs and was trained to solder, doesn't mean I'm the best troubleshooter. I am a prior AGE mechanic with the Air Force so the maintenance skills needed for an 80s Bally are in my favor. Took an expensive gamble and it paid off. It's not museum quality but it plays well and if you know Flash, it's never the same game twice. Except you lose vs. Ming every single time.

It broke a year later. Where I live, I can't take it to someone and no one to come to me. The hobbyist I bought from was done and done with pinball. I'm on my own or using the experts in this community to fix it.

The entire time it was broke I was consumed with it. That's me, and that's just one box. So, I suggest not getting balls deep with two pins as I couldn't imagine trying to deal with two broke pins. And they will break.

If your budget is 9k then get one really grand machine and use the leftovers for upgrades or maintenance. Play the one and let it break on you, then go about trying to fix just the one. I don't recall you stating you knew anything about fixing them, so I'd put the additional money in a high quality soldering station, a DMM, fuses, diodes, and wire. Then learn to use all of it.

I have no maintenance XP with any machine outside FG. So I can't comment on the maintenance of a Stern outside of just playing it.

hmm, well, you need to be prepared: any pin you get, no matter its condition, is going to need regular maintenance. you need to be ready to take the glass off and clean the playfield occasionally, replace burnt out bulbs, fix a broken switch or rubber, re-solder a wire, etc.

Do you prefer fast brutal games or long methodical deep rule games? Iron Man is at the one extreme (brutal) and LOTR is at the other (Super deep, long ball times). I've owned both and IM is my personal preference....that being said a game like LOTR is going to have more to explore in a one pin collection. And that being said it makes for a shitty multiplayer game while IM is fantastic for multiple players.

Then of course there is everything in between. Most games lean one way or the other. GB, TWD, AC/DC = fast/brutal. Hobbit, TZ = slower/longer.

Looking at your local CL... I think the most appealing pinball buy based on fun vs price would would be the big guns... Make an offer of $1200 on BG and you will be getting a lot of pinball fun for the money! I just can't understand how people reason that WW is worth DOUBLE HS2, BR, or I1500???
-S

By-by MK2, hello HS2. Make it a double pin area!!

Remember - and this is important.

The more money you spend on a pinball machine, the happier you'll be!

Don't buy a pin in the hopes that your kids will necessarily take on your enthusiasm and that when you "pass the game on" they'll do anything other than sell it on CL and split the proceeeds.. My two college ads boys had absolutely no interest in my LOTR (first pin) when I bought it several years ago and generally are not into my replacement pin (GOT Premium) either. If your kids get into it, wonderful! But chances are as they get older they'll be more into video games/computer/smartphone games.

Since you don't want to do any work on it, buy new.

Metallica Pro and Ghostbusters Pro are both pretty easy to get and well within your budget, and will likely never break in the time you own them.

Unless you're handy and like fixing stuff, avoid used games.

Just because it's new, doesn't mean it's perfect. My advice is buy new, but buy from a retailer that has it already out of the box and tested.
So far on the metpro that is used by Pingraffix
1- 1st playfield starts to peel 2 hours into use
2- new populated playfield sent and installed
3- switches are not registering so I trace out the wires and find four wires going to the wrong switches
4-pop bumpers not working fixed by adjusting switches underneath the playfield
5-graveyard drop targets stop working after a few plays, look underneath and find the plunger unscrewed from the plunger
Re-assembled and used thread lock. Never happened again
Before this starts a bunch of bs
The woz we had, had just as many issues.
My point is that new games need adjustments.

I vote the $1250 blackout. Looks nice, has $300 in new boards and you can always turn it later. It would be a good one to get your feet wet and learn upkeep.

You say you don't have room for more than one. Famous last words. It won't be long and you will have another in the living room, then 2, then... well you get it.