I don't think it's a problem. Mine is a re-import, I think. I really don't care one way or the other. If you're fine with the heavily routed part, you probably don't care if it was on route in Texas or Siberia. There are people who are purists about machine history and would never buy a re-import. There are others who don't care. You can decide for yourself.

I'd be more worried about the condition of some of the hard to find parts over if it was a re-import at all. It's not like WMS sent lower quality parts to Europe.

The plastics for the faces, ramps, shaker motor parts and even the translite are hard to come by. Keep that in mind with the price.

Road show is one of those games that you get exactly what you pay for. If it was heavily routed you can expect to have to take those heads out pretty soon. Import makes it extremely hard to resell and fish wear is a the definitive way on this game to tell how worn it is. I personally wouldn’t not look at one for sale if it had fish wear. I spent about $3400 for one with the heads rebuilt and pretty clean playfield.

If your planning on taking the time to do all that. Depending on the overall playfield wear I would consider it.

I personally feel you. It took a good while to not find a busted RS. All I can say is a lot of people have bought rs that need work then quickly have become overwhelmed. Pin is a pita. How much is the pin? Im estimating 3k

Taking the heads out to fix them is way, way overblown around here. And I say that as a guy with a broken Ted as my Avatar.

Red comes out super easy.

Ted is a lot more work, but he only needs to come totally out to work on the eyes, which doesn't effect gameplay at all, which is why he is broken on all the routed games. Besides, it's all stuff you need to remove to properly clean the game anyways.

A few of them around for 3k or better. Not sure how hard you been looking most all of them at OBO too. Must be location or timing https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/archive?s=1&radius_latitude=26.43122806450644&radius_longitude=-81.2109375&keywords=road+show&ad_condition=0&machine_type=&ad_machine_manuf=&year_from=&year_to=&radius_distancekm=322&sort_by=ad_end_date&sort_order=DESC

Rs in working order in just fair condition sldnt be no more than 3k imo. Ive seen plenty around that pricepoint.

I think you are overpaying. First the plastics aren't NOS. Those have been unobtainium forever. They are likely the reproductions that have been available for more than a year. The art package is nice, but it depends on who it is from. PhoenixArcade's were spectacular but have been out of production for several years. I've seen a lot of crap art. Cliffy's are cheap. Head parts aren't hard to find, it's just the actual heads themselves. The topper is a bonus if it's the one with the beacon lights.

And, while I have no problem with reimports, my experience is they tend to have far more hacks than US games and some of those hacks are downright dangerous/ridiculous. You can still get a nice RS for around $3K.

So, if you want to do the work, then take the deal and expect some surprises with fixing the game that might add cost. If you want a game you can play reliably, be more patient.

Games sent overseas are basically identical - same parts, boards, and code. I believe the concern is largely over corrosion. These games spent lengthy times on boats at sea. I don't think it is much of an issue but reimports are generally less desirable. That can be a good thing if you are not picky since it translates to a lower price. Big things are always condition and price. Check boards and under playfield. Surprised you have not found one for less than $4000. I am not in the market but seen most go for $3500 or less. Some even less than $3000.

When i reworked mine, red, super easy. Ted, not so much. If I had removed all the ramps and not trying all the stupid things to not do it, it would have been done in no time. Working on the heads themselves is super easy.
Nothing to dread if you remove all the things around first and not be lazy, it will cost you.

Something to consider, not all game specific parts for RS have been remade, not just the plastics.
There is NO difference in exported or domestic games except transformer settings and coin doors.
This enthusiast fallacy came of the reimport era before 2005, based on resellers trying to pitch higher prices for US games, or even hide the fact they were exported to increase sales.

"Good deals" on this title are fleeting today, because potential owners don't know what is missing and find out late the game already had been stripped. There are a number of unique PCBs as well, some are repairable, some are difficult, based on parts or experience.

Know this title well, and it's associated Achilles heels.

My company is piecing together another working version from two games, due to this exact problem and are using my experience based on ownership/restoration of a sample game for nearly 20 years.

Keep flipping