Wayyyy to vague my friend
Does it have missing boards? That dmd is expensive. I’d pass unless you really like the theme/have money to spend/have time to fix

Can you do any work necessary yourself ? If not run away.

LTG : )

You'd have to figure out what needs fixing to understand what kind of discount would be appropriate. Unless you're an expert at repairing machines, that seems like an unlikely outcome before you actually buy the machine, so you have to expect the worst.

Given the description you've provided so far, could be anything from a single loose wire to a whole board missing or in need of replacing, maybe multiple boards and parts (though in my experience that doesn't usually happen because once one thing breaks, the machine winds up going offline so nothing else gets a chance to break). Someone trying to sell an inoperative machine, and especially if they themselves don't know what's wrong with it, has to accept that they're going to get only a fraction of the market value for the machine, assuming they can sell it at all, because you could spend an enormous amount of time and money getting it back into playable shape.

Her best bet would be to get the machine fixed first and then sell it. If she is worried it would cost more to fix than she'd get back selling it, then she ought to sell it at a price appropriate for the working parts only.

$3,000 is a good price if it’s working 100%

Bad power supply and corroded boards due to leaking batteries?

I think your offer is a good one based on the issues. I also agree that 3K is decent if it were fully functioning. I passed on a non working Maverick for $500 but this was long ago when I wasn't confident in my repair skills.

A good rule of thumb is to make a quick shopping list based on the worst case scenario, then subtract the value of that list + something for your time from the going rate of a functional game in similar physical condition.

- It most likely hasn't been shopped in a long time. At the very least, you'll need a set of rubbers and a flipper rebuild kit.
- If the flippers aren't flipping, although it could simply be a blown fuse, it may very well need a new flipper board.
- The display is not working and the original Sega large DMDs are very hard to come by. Because of this, you may as well upgrade to a ColorDMD.
- As mentioned above, the MPU could be in great shape, but it's possible (and more likely) that it has suffered alkaline damage. The DE/Sega power supplies are known to have issues, as well, so you can add one of those.

As you can see, it can add up pretty quickly. Keep in mind this is also just to get the game running as intended, never mind extras like LEDs. It's entirely possible that you bring it home, swap some fuses, and she'll fire right up, but keeping the worst case scenario in mind can really save you some $.

For her to ask $3000 leads me to believe that she's on pinside.

Pics show general illumination lights on, but no feature lights lit (some should be lit in attract mode) and dark display. That's a good indication that the CPU board isn't booting properly and likely more than the flippers and display aren't working. Could be bad power supply, could be destroyed CPU board due to battery leakage, could be something else. You shouldn't have an figure in mind until you inspect the game. I would also suggest researching replacement displays as that's a large one and replacement options may be limited. Even if factory display is working, it's very old and will eventually need to be replaced.

$3K didn't come out of thin air. Pinside average is $2800. She thinks she has something that she clearly doesn't. But to land on that number means research was done, and if she can get that far, you can also instruct her how to open the backbox and get you some board pics so you don't go driving all that way to check out what may be a lemon.

Maverick is a fun machine. Mine was very reliable and only had minor problems that were not expensive to fix. I doubt the display is shot. The connectors get flakey and there is a service bulletin that is easy to fix it. The power supply board was easy to work on. I replaced a few caps and a bridge rectifier and fuse. All cheap. The machine seemed very solid to me. She needs to lower her price in half and show you photos so you can check for leaky batteries or damaged/missing boards.

A working Maverick 2 years ago was a sub-$2000 pin. $3000 and it's dead? No thanks, someone has been trolling Ebay for pricing.

I'd not pay more than $1000 for this example. You might get lucky and its just a burned connector or it's a smoked CPU with battery damage. You will drop $300 to $400 for a replacement board and that is just the start depending on what else you find.

$1300 to $1400 is a reasonable offer.

1,000 tops.

Or Ebay

If you think she will take less than half of her asking then more power to you and go get it!

As others said - it is behaving as though it could have a battery leak.

If you are local then consider going over there and showing her the leaking batteries on the MPU. Then offer her a price accordingly. Make sure you confirm whether or not replacement MPUs are available for that game and what the cost is.

Also look very carefully at where the battery leak spread to (connectors below etc). Collateral damage could be time consuming or expensive.

Before you go, if you go, ask if she has the keys.

Yeah I love that. Two times now. Did end up more than satisfied regardless…

I would not waste my time. Why provide diagnostic help for nothing which very well could backfire in your face.

Simply state the price is unreasonable for a dead machine, make her an offer based on the most likely scenario they are commonly known for and here is my number. And wait.

An American pickers episode?

You're going to have a hard time getting her down to 1400 if her asking price is 3k. 1400 is probably what it's worth considering the most likely scenario is that the MPU has damage or is toast due to batteries leaking. But she has been on Ebay or talked to some expert that told her "what she has" and she will not want somebody to come along and cheat her out of her valuable collectable. If it's close, I would go look, but don't get your hopes up. If it's more than an hour, I would tell her a price range you might offer depending on what you find when you get there and see if she is receptive. Otherwise, you will waste your whole afternoon on a turd hunt.

Well hope u get it. I've been surprised more than once how people can be more receptive once you point out the problems and repair/replace costs.

To be clear I would have shown her it in the context of why I was offering X dollars for the game. It takes approximately 2 minutes to get to the backbox so if he wants the game at a fair price then I would so as I recommend.

I'll admit, however, that I don't try to buy pins like this. The risk/reward of my time wasted just doesn't work for my life (work schedule, family, etc). So I don't have a lot of experience trying to talk someone down from $3k when the game is trashed. I imagine such an effort is hit or miss.

Not to mention the lower cabinet is really faded and it has the wrong legs on it. Dirty, not working.......your opening up a can of worms. Good luck getting here down to the $1000 mark. That's a great game but not for her price and condition. Let us know what happens.

John

Anything you point out to her "might fix it" she will just tell the next buyer "it's worth X and only needs Y for it to work" because some pinball guy told me so. You explaining it may have other issues or need to be shopped will just sail overhead.

Simply state the price is unreasonable for a dead machine, make her an offer and here is my number.

Trust me, been in your shoes. People who think they have a 3k goldmine are rarely budged aside from time, when they finally realize they are wrong or pressed for time/money.

I have a hard rule now never poke at the dead machine while on site, had one seller raise the price $1000 because I spotted what was wrong with it.

Never again. Wrap, load and leave.

She’s probably full of shit. Good chance you hear from her in a week or so.

^^^^THIS^^^^

I call shenanigans…and Tomfoolery.

Exactly so.

Oldest trick in the book.

Simply reply, you have my offer... cash.

The word "cash" is magic on some people, it will prey on her mind. You can always counter you are going to look at another pin in a few days... only have cash for one though.

Good luck. As mentioned, hopefully she has the keys

Remember; just look, say nothing, pay, wrap and leave.

Because we live in Florida check for bugs (termites) and water damage!

I thin my that’s a fair offer considering other things wrong you find down the road.

I bet she may call you to come get it after a few days. Good luck!

You did diag onsite?

Did she say why she wants to sell? Give her a call at the end of the week to see if she changed her mind. Who knows you might get lucky.

I vote not to call. If she changes her mind, she'll call you. Calling just gives her the impression that you're more interested than you really are.

That has hurt me many more times than it has helped me…

She probably already expected you to say "I'll take it for the $1500".

If you examined the MPU and did not see any battery damage, $1500 would have been a good project price.

If you throw a number out (like 1500) ...that's all they hear.

I am late to the party here, but I would've offered 1000. That pin needs a lot of love. You will have to source and purchase several high dollar parts, and either have the knowledge to fix it (which will chew up time) or pay someone handsomely to do it.

I would hold fast at 1200. I think that's the top of the mark for it. You may also want to reach back out to her in a week or two. It couldn't hurt.

I don't think these are current prices you are going with; with $1,000. Kind of older thinking on project prices.

If it's worth 1200, it's worth 1500. If it's not worth 1500, it's not worth 1200.