Quoted from johnwartjr:Owning pinball machines is *expensive* if you can't repair and troubleshoot them yourself. That's an unfortunate fact of life.
Not to totally jack the thread... but I wonder if that isn't part of the rise in the prices of the used machines. I wonder how many new buyers jump in and buy something without really thinking through the fact a lot of these machines are 20+ years old, sat in a commercial environment for most of its life, and then was purchased by someone who was possibly learning to fix it on the fly.
I know I took a leap of faith when I bought my FT but I realized it would take some learning and I'd discover issues along the way... but that is why I waited for a deal.