It's hard to say without maybe some idea of what problems it has?

Any local collectors that could give you a hand ?

That might help you decide to fix/put money in fixing/sell/keep.

Myself, I think I'd gut it out and get a little help and fix it. Just to keep learning.

You start thinking about another machine, get it. Then what if it breaks ? You already got one of them.

LTG : )

So invite him out somewhere. Treat him to beer and pizza. Start talking about pins. Suck up and say things like I wish I was as smart as you. My Judge Dredd is still causing me issues.

See if he takes the bait.

I looked over your post. You might contact Rob Anthony ( http://lockwhenlit.com/ ) he posts here. Ask him his thoughts, maybe send him your boards.

LTG : )

Or just ask for his help, in exchange for a bottle of booze, movie tickets, or whatever else they might appreciate.
People in the pin community seem to be pretty nice and don't mind helping from what I've seen so far. Still, never hurts to show your appreciation.

Perhaps you can offer to pay him? Let him know you need help but aren't comfortable asking him to just help out. Just be up front and lay it all out.

As far as your original question, I think paying to get the game repaired would be cheaper than selling it as-is and taking a loss on it.

Agree with all on here: pay/offer to take him out or similar to get it fixed. You may find you like the game better when its working 100%. Nothing like your only game down so you can't enjoy it!

Don't give up, when a JD is dailed in right it's a blast to play.
Get your boards fixed up right (i understand these are quiet intimidating) all other things can be learned "on the fly".

If you make a list of all things that have to be done, present it then to you helping hand. Don't call him for every switch that's wonkey.
And as said above, do something in return ... help him out with parts he needs. give him some beers and pizza or movie-tickets.
If it's give and take, most pinheads are willing to help out, if it's a two-way street .

i understand the "feel weird" part... as noted by you and others though, a token of appreciation given to the helper makes me feel better about it...

that being said:

- most pinheads are more than happy to share their knowledge and help out... especially if you try and learn while they are helping... that's not unique to pinheads... generally speaking, i'm pretty happy to spend a lot of time helping people with "stuff i can fix/know how it works" IF they show an interest in learning... the majority of people (myself included) love the opportunity to show off what they know...

if they don't show any interest in learning ("just fix it for me"), i do tend to lose interest pretty quickly though...

- might as well start learning how to fix them now... there is no such thing as a pinball machine that isn't going to break every now and then... if you are a "pinball owner", you are pretty much required to learn how to be a "pinball fixer" too...

Judge Dredd is a lot for a first machine. There must be a good pinball tech in the neighborhood. Ask around.

I can't help but feel that your problems are linked to one root cause, like faulty power somewhere. Rob Anthony was mentioned and his reputation is excellent around here. He can probably guide you to narrow it down to one or two boards, which you can then send to him for repair.

I responded in the other thread. It seems like you have some good suggestions there to try out before giving up.

Judging from your other post, you're intelligent, you know how to describe your issues and you can apply fixes. So I'd say keep trying and see if you can fix it - we've all been there! If possible, try to buy another game with the same boardset so you can swap between them and isolate the problem. This "buddy system" approach helped me keep my sanity with my Ballys and system 11s.

Good luck!

Selling games that are not fully working is ok, as long as the defects are fully stated. Full Disclosure is what the car guys call it. What is totally wrong is the bait and switch technique of showing in the ad photos of a pin in better condition, then the buyer shows up to see a pin in rougher condition. IMO.

He does house calls. Get on his schedule.

You should calculate the relative costs. If you want another WPC machine then go for it. But be careful - you run the risk of frying a good part. You probably want to start by putting the suspected bad part in the good machine rather than the other way around.

Keep in mind that new replacements are available, such as from Rottendog or PinballPCB and the cost is sometimes quite low. For example, a new DMD display board is about the same cost as getting the old one repaired.

I've offered to help if he has JD specific questions.