Stop buying machines everyone says you “must have”. Buy something, anything at a price you like. Play 100-200 games on it. If you like it, keep it. If you don’t, sell it at break even for you if the market will bear, or at a loss if needed because you put too much into fixing it up. Wash, rinse, repeat. If you lose $100 you broke even on 100 games at $1/game on location.
I find location play frustrating. Background noise. Other game noise. Poorly kept pins. Volume too low on the pin I’m playing etc.