There isn't a cap or finite amount of hate

So upset that my machine isn’t working out of the box! My firts (and possibly last) NIB purchase. 6k and this thing on it 2nd day in my basement, takes a crap on me. The center ramp won’t come down. So stern sent me a replacement board. Swapped it out. Then 2 hours later, it fails again!! Seriously ??? WTF is going on here stern?? This is ridiculous. I’ve never made such a big purchase on a “toy” and for it to not work out of the box! Really??? Frustrated here.

I had the same issue with batman66. It was down for a month. Bad wiring job, then Star Wars failed node board, Elvira failed turret motor. They all get fixed. They are all temperamental toys and things happen. I get the frustration. Be patient and it will get fixed.

Man that’s awful. They’re sending me a new motor and another board just in case. Hopefully be here early next week.

Sounds about right. I can't wait for humanity to go extinct. We fully deserve it..

I think that’s epic , lol.

I hate to say this, but this is all part of the hobby. I think each NIB Stern had some problems one way or the other. My NIB Metallica Prem was down for the first month I got it, the entire snake assembly broke amongst other things and it took a while to get the parts then get around to install them.

Even recently my Iron Maiden LE's ramp was stuck open and broken right after the first 5-10 plays and they had to send me an entire new assembly.. took a couple weeks.

My Ghostbusters playfield had to be completely replaced.

Its tough to build pinball machines and I get it, but apparently it's tough to fully check them out for issues before shipping as well.. it's just something you in a way have to accept and sign up for if buying a new machine from Stern. Because no amount of complaining has ever been able to fix it lol

Sounds like they are going out of their way to help you out. Excellent service!

This is pinball. Welcome to the hobby.

Yep. That screen is on 100% of the time, so they should be showing motion graphics 100% of the time.

The ramps are a good example. They should be glowing with Christmas lights in some modes, showing demon tendrils in others, the arcade mode should have 8-bit graphics...it should always be active.

Not unique to Stern (obviously). Even high-end restorations take time to dial-in...restorers don't play many games for fear of dimpling the PF

I've had NIB Sterns down for the first month as well...not fun, but they do eventually send the necessary parts. For us, it's just a bummer. For an arcade, it's significant lost revenue. Kind of surprised the parts acquisition isn't more streamlined...

I just don’t get it. Yes I’m new to the hobby in the aspect of OWNING a machine. But where is the QC on these machines? I just don’t accept it as being status quo, it is what it is, whatever. We spend a lot of HARD EARNED money for these things NOT to work out of the box. To me, as a consumer, it’s unacceptable. Will I ever buy another NIB machine. Doubtful. And if I do, I’ll wait for all the problems to get ironed out first. Just my 2 cents. I know I’ll probly get roasted for my opinions. But oh well. It’s how I feel. I love the game though.

Why are you yelling at us about this? I think you’ll find your “pinball machines shouldn’t break” opinion isn’t really that controversial and most would agree with you.

You should be chewing out stern for selling you this lemon, not us!

Have you inquired about sending the machine back and getting a refund?

Keep in mind this forum has the hardcore of pinball fanboyism, people will accept and defend pretty much anything from Stern. You are completely justified in your feelings and it is laughable that people just shrug it off with, well that's pinball. You get both sides people will rant and rave about the smallest things from Stern and endlessly hate on them. This place is a completely weird view on reality.

P.S. No matter what you say someone will feel it is some personal attack on them and tell you to take it elsewhere.

I think most of us agree with you, however if you've reported this to Stern and they are working on making it good, that is good and normal business practice. I can understand it is frustrating, but as long as they continue to offer good customer service regarding it, you will eventually be happy. The real test will be how well it keeps up over time. Most home use only games should hold up really well. We should all expect good QC out of the box on any consumer product we buy, but the reality is there's always a percentage of bad items that get out the door. The real test is how the company handles those issues.

Yeah, but it is always sad when our trollheim here loses one of its children.... We should have one week a year where Aurich and Circle K are back, and free popcorn for all

So, layout and mechs are mediocre, but to be fixed by software?

You hate everything about the game, have 0 intention of purchasing it, and just want to shit on absolutely every aspect of the game. Please, tell us more.

Thanks everyone. I’m just frustrated Is all. I’m getting a lot of heat from my wife on this one too. As she really wasn’t in total agreement on my purchase. Now I feel like I have egg on my face. But so far stern is trying to work with me. Hopefully the replacement motor will be the fix. But we shall see.

I have not inquired about a refund. Although the thought has crossed my mind. I really like the game though. But I don’t know how much I can handle all this troubleshooting and waiting for parts and blah blah blah. So. We’ll see.

Try and chill out a bit. It's the nature of pinball, every company.

Stern has excellent customer support. You will get it fixed.

I hate to say it but it sounds like you shouldn't have bought it in the first place.

My first game, i felt like a total dumbass for buying a LOTRLE for $5200. First delivery, pallet jack hole through the bottom of the cab. Second one, a few minor fuses etc. The thought of wasting $$ on a toy like that.

My IMDN was a piece of shit, sold it.

My BM66 had wiring wrapped around the turntable motor, had to replace the whole thing and re wire it, solder etc.

Shit happens, still the greatest hobby!

You will look back and laugh after you've purchased pin number 10 or so

I'm at 20 and counting

That's correct, I do indeed purchase the great Sterns, often the LE version.
This is not one of them.

k

Most haters chime in when they have no room left or $$$ or both

Who cares?

You’re probably right. I shouldn’t have bought it. I only pulled the trigger because I wasn’t aware of the quality issues beforehand. Lesson learned, I guess.

Did you buy it from a distributor? Some of the local ones around here provide support if there are issues. I would contact them as well as they are usually more knowledgeable if this is your first pin

Yeah I bought it from game room guys in Michigan.

Damn this is really bringing the room down.

Let’s try to cheer this dude up!

I think it’s gonna be ok! Sounds like maybe you have a bad motor which is cornholing your node board. So replacing both should help!

In the meantime, stop grumbling to your wife which is obviously making things worse. Just disable the ramp thingee and play the game, its perfectly Playable without that feature. Tell your wife it’s working fine and she’ll get off your back.

Also whatever you do, don’t search “dimpling” on this site.

Deep breaths my man! Better days are soon ahead.

Do they have lemon laws in Michigan? If so, get a refund.

Sorry you had to learn this way, but Stern doesn’t test their games like they used to - so, first buyers are guinea pigs. Quality’s always been a crapshoot with Stern. My Metallica LE was perfect...but friend of mine got one with a part missing from the coffin lock, and balls just fell into the cabinet. Another friend got one that was unacceptable and practically falling apart in multiple areas. The hobbyists who came up buying used games & fixing/restoring themselves usually don’t mind getting under the hood and getting things dialed in...but for someone new to the hobby, this must be extremely frustrating. A new item as expensive as a pinball machine should be 100% out of the box or damn close to it.

BIG MISTAKE.

100% agree.

A year from now the guy will have 3 pins and realize he was being a baby.

I hope so. Get a working game in your house ASAP and put he wife at ease! Haha

Nice blaming the victim here, everybody. How dare the guy buy a brand new pin and expect it to be perfect.

I've had pins at home for 18 years. For 18 years things have been breaking and getting fixed. Old games/new games.

I've had NIB games from Stern, JJP, Spooky, CGC, etc...and they have all at one time needed something fixed/replaced/tweaked...etc. Sometimes it's right out of the box and sometimes it's soon after. I never owned a Bally/Williams NIB, but they had issues too when they were NIB.

If you obsess or get too OCD about stuff breaking, or are afraid to get under the hood, I would just play on location or at friend's houses.

100% of the things I needed fixed over the years got fixed...by me or a friend or someone I paid to help.

Grab a beer and some perspective. It's just pinball. You'll get it squared away and be playing in no time.

The real solution is to have at least a 3 game collection, so you have other pins to play when something goes down.

Well. Maybe I exaggerated a little on the wife giving me heat. I mean. She just asked what’s up with their quality control and I said it’s a normal thing with pinballs. I mean, she likes to play too. And this is my second pin. I have a South Park as well; that I bought from this site. And yes, we played a little tonight even without the ramp working. So. Yeah. It is what it is. Hopefully I’ll get my replacement parts early next week and I’ll be able to swap them all out. Luckily, I do like to tinker under the hood, just didn’t think I would have to this soon out of the box,is all I’m getting at. Really. Messing around with my South Park kind of got me used to working on these machines so I’m not scared to get under there. I just didn’t think I would have to do soon. Oh well. Like u Guys said, it’ll get fixed. I did have one hell of a game earlier today when it was working after I put in the replacement board. I actually had a hell of a fun time with it.

Stern will take care of you! I have a friend who's NIB's always show up DOA. It is hilarious! They always get fixed. He opened his JP premium last week set it up and powered it on and on the first game smoke started coming out of the playfield (bad nod board and locked on a coil). All his JJP game showed up not working. It is part of the hobby.

Yep. Just make the most of it. Not worth it to get all bent outta shape. Pinball will always be fun if you approach everything it throws at you the right way.

It was perfect. Then it broke. Now it’s time to fix it. That’s pinball.

Wow that’s crazy!! Smoke ??? Oh shoot. I’d be freaking out! I guess I just wasn’t prepared for NIB machines to arrive with defects is all. Now I know better. Will I buy another pin now that I know ? Idk. Probly. If the theme is cool enough like stranger things I will! Man. All I know is this game is gorgeous. I love the art work on it and the playfield lighting looks awesome I’m my dim lit basement. I can’t wait to mod it up with some cool trough lighting. I already added the speaker light kit and it looks sweet! I’m gettin an external volume control tomorrow and swapping out the coin door lock with a thumb lock. So that’ll keep me occupied. Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I’m jumping into this hobby feet first man!!

I bought my first NIB game from GRG they are very good and will work with Stern.

If anything you have a wealth of inforight here on pin side!

I had an issue with my DP the other day and I got answers and a resolution on this site real fast!

Take pictures and post them so everyone can try to help you.

But most importantly... have a few beers!

Actually, I skipped GRG and called straight to stern. I figured I’d get quicker response time going straight to the manufacturer. Their technicians are really helpful and they are working With me to get this thing fixed. So I have no doubts it’ll get corrected.

That's the crux of the issue. Things like you are seeing shouldn't be 'normal on pinball'. Breaking things because a ball is beating them is 'normal'. Regardless what anyone tries to say otherwise, this is indeed a QC issue. That being said, again, it does happen on most all consumer products, even the expensive ones. I bought my first NiB last year, and it has been flawless (different company). However, there were others that bought them that did have issues out of the box though. As long as the manufacturer is willing to make good, then all is well. The issues that people are most upset about are the ones that they try to claim is 'normal' and won't do anything about it.

How do you recommend they fix this particular issue? This could be the only one of a thousand cases that had this issue. Should they play test every game 100s of times before they go out? Doesn’t seem feasible to me.

I don't think it is a matter of playtesting necessarily. I think it is a cheap parts / bad assembly issue. I've worked in manufacturing. I know how this whole scenario goes. The whole objective is to not stop the lines even if there's bad parts. Of course, that may not be it at all. It could be as simple as 'it's 4:30 on Friday' syndrome. They should be working to determine what the issue is and remediating. Even then, there's still an acceptable number of 'issues' for every product. To be clear, I'm not pointing to Stern, just manufacturing in general.

It's ok man, you are entitled to bitch and whine like everybody else here.

Sometimes it just makes you feel better. Then crack open a few beers or three and no worries.

It does help to have a few machines so if one is down you got others to play.

But this particular case is rare. Possibly completely one off. How do you prepare for that as a manufacturer?

I’ll admit, playing devils advocate here. It’s easy to say places need better QC, but as we’ve all seen, every company has issues with every release. Either all these companies are insane or QC is hard. I’m going with the latter.

I agree, it isn't easy. It's just something every company should continue to refine and not get lazy about. It is far too easy to say 'we'll fix it in the field'. I don't think we can deny however that Stern's direction with node boards is problematic when it comes to a little issue creating a larger one and preventing quick fixes.

EDIT: also, I think for further clarification, my statement about 'it shouldn't be normal' was meaning in general, it shouldn't be considered normal to have game breaking issues out of the box with a pinball machine. Issues out of the box should be considered outliers.

I agree with u here bro. About parts being sub standard and cheap. And I also get the 4.30 syndrome too. I work on An assembly line myself for one of the big 3, and I can totally see how all this tied together when it comes to assembly line and quality. I see it on a daily basis. What I think should happen is tighter QC on the suppliers. That’s where it should start. Yeah. I get it. Bottom line and all that crap. But they should hold their suppliers to a higher QC standard. I would start there. Personally.