Man that sucks! Who did you use for shipping?

Yes who? This scares the crap out of me

A good finish carpenter if you cannot find a specialist of some sort.

If you are looking to get an estimate to submit to STI for an insurance claim you better go really high. Look for everything and anything.

Ironically I too had a Pinball Magic get damaged in shipping (the only one). It was sent strapped to a pallet and wrapped and when I got it, it had no straps and no wrappings and it was laying on its SIDE on the pallet with all the glass broken AND the cab seriously tweaked.

Long story short I should have refused it on the spot (my initial reaction) but I was naive and was told by the shipping manager and the seller, they would cover all the damages, it was fully insured.

Nope. Submitted the claim, got the run around for quite a while and only got 10 cents on the dollar of my initial claim and was told "I was lucky to get that" basically.

Anyway, with my experience I would say to go high on your claim. Fixing that cracked and chipped off plywood and making it look like it originally was will be a challenge.

You should take it to a cabinet restore shop. Pinball machines have a very detailed joint and they would know what kind of joint it is and how to repair it. Sure an auto body shop could slap some bondo on it but you need wood joint repair.

sorry about that. nothing worse when it comes to the hobby. you expect a mint game and it gets messed up. i don't have games shipped anymore after they messed up my stle. they really don't care how they handle your game. i think the guys that get games with no damage are the lucky ones. now i only look for local examples that are in nice shape. it is what it is.

With all the intricate artwork on PM, there is no way that can be repaired and look right. I would tell the shipping company that they're now the proud owner of a beat up PM. Make sure you get enough money to buy Neo's PM, and tell the shipping company that they can come pick up their pinball game.

just getting someone to redo the backbox decals is going to be a 5 hour job at least. Then someone needs to strip the decals on the existing head and fix the cabinet. But first needs to remove all the boards etc... this is at a bare minimum a 20 hour job.

They're not decals. That's why I'm saying it's screwed.

I get that but that's what will ahve to be made to fix it.

As others have said file the claim, but make it substantial enough to give yourself wiggle room for negotiation. Get one or two repair estimates, and then average them. Include extra for hassle and time. Not sure if STI has an arbitration clause in their contract, but they might. Glance it over. Either way, if they don't offer anything amenable to you, you could always take them to small claims court pro se. Also see if the seller has any pics of the game before it was shipped for comparison. What an excellent game...a shame that it arrived injured.

I've shipped a few games through STI, and they are certainly hit or miss. A few games got there without incident (or I wasn't told otherwise), and one did sustain some level of damage. I think it was better as NAVL, before STI gobbled the company up.

And amen to that....always a risk when you ship something this bulky and heavy. I would love to hide a remote cam at some point to see a video of a shipped game from time of pick up all the way through transport and delivery. If we saw that, I'm sure many of us would never ship a game ever again.

What's the total you paid for the machine (with and without shipping and insurance)?
What's the limit on the insurance? Is there a deductible? Have you filed a claim (we're you given a claim number)? The purpose of insurance is for indemnification (aka reimbursement) purposes.
Submit an estimate for repair and the shipper will owe that amount less any deductible.
You cannot count your time in the estimate, unfortunately.

You should ask Ron at NYPINBALL.COM. After he is done crying seeing that damage...he is one of the best restorers I have seen. At min he is well qualified to provide a restoration estimate. Good luck!

20 hours at $75/hr is a $1500 estimate.
Hire someone: sign a dated contract with signatures (from both parties, you and your contractor), estimated dates of completion, payment schedule, proof of exchange of a down payment. The contract should come from someone with a business that is incorporated and has an FEIN. (For $ tracking).
Provide the contract to the claims department and request payment. If they refuse to make payment, get the work done and submit an invoice for the repairs. If they don't pay you back you'll have to take them to small claims court.

It could be worse.
STI delivered my pin a few days ago. The driver drove deep through my yard causing large ruts and ran over/broke the drainage pipe that runs under my driveway. His hydraulic line broke from his offroading on my property and when he tried to use the lift gate, the line broke spraying me, my three vehicles, and my $2k basketball goal with hydraulic fluid. They also damaged the pinball machine.

Geez, sounds like a total disaster. Now you got me wandering if my pin being shipped could have the same results.

I've had really good luck with R&L carriers, but the person selling the game would need to be able to paletize it.
STI, at least on my end, is terrible.

Does anyone know if hydraulic fluid is corrosive to a vehicles paint?

Paint should be OK . Hyd. oil is just oil that's not good enough to be motor oil w/ anti-foam additives . You had a good wax job on it - right ?

Wash vehicles with Dawn dishwashing soap to get all the oil off just in case.

Yep,
All vehicles had been recently waxed.
The basketball goal got it the worst and still has spots on it after washing.

You should get a quote for replacement parts like a new head and charge them that.

I wonder if I could bill them for stress.

I assume you contacted STI but I would contact them again and ask what their plans are for cleaning the mess up! Advised them that you're going to contact EPA and see what needs to be done! Depending on where you live, most states have strict laws regarding oil, especially hydraulic, leaks!

You're not responsible for fixing anything or for cleaning anything, STI is!

Good luck. I used STI a dozen times with no damage. Used RandL due to high cost of STI and was 3 for 3 with damage and RandL refused to refund ANY claims for parts or labor. I ate a lot of money with R and L. Went back to using STI and now only ship with pinball on legs. Wrapped, padded, cardboard and re-padded and wrapped.

Two different situations here. The damage to the PM is a bailee's claim. They took possession of your property and returned it in a damaged state. Basically, it will be a contractual matter between you and the shipper. It doesn't matter how the damage occurred. There is damage and they have a contractual obligation to pay for it. Since you're dealing with a shipping carrier, chances are there will be a limitation per pound that they are obligated to reimburse you.

The damage to Jonharvey's property is a simple auto liability claim which is a civil matter. He will have to prove they were negligent in some matter and their negligence caused the damage. If they are negligent, the shipper's obligation will be to repair or replace the damaged property, whichever cost is less. The shipper actually may have some defenses they can utilize to escape responsibility. They could say they are not responsible if Jonharvey directed them to drive across his property. Additionally, they could claim mechanical breakdown caused the hydraulic hose break. If they can show they followed industry standard methods in the inspection/maintenance of their equipment then they could argue they are not negligent and, accordingly, they are not responsible for the damage caused.

No. Both instances involve property damage. Inconvenience, stress, pain and suffering only apply to bodily injury claims.

That will strip the wax on the cars.
Don't use Dawn.

Better than leaving the oil on them, you can always re wax .

Their insurance seems to be cooperating so far. The claims adjuster is coming out tomorrow to look at everything. I'm just not going to ship pinball machines anymore. If I can't drive to get it then I will just not buy it.

Did two trips this weekend. Moved both machines without a scratch. Yesterday's was 3 hours each way and today's was 4.5 hours each way. Downside is the weekend is gone and I am beyond exhausted. Total cost was 65 in gas vs 700 to have had sti do it.