Sterns warranty is terrible

That's all I ever did on my NIB purchases. They all worked great out of the box (3 games). Boy did I not know anything LOL.

Inspecting/testing also allows the owner to learn about the intricacies of their new game, its' proper operation, and allow preventative troubleshooting before something goes wrong.

People are certainly allowed to disagree.

Haha, yes? I have bought dozens of new sterns and this is how we do it. I'm not saying that we've never had problems. But you don't need such an intricate investigation as was suggested before powering up the game.

Quick visual for things out of place.. double check for any obstructions/lockdowns for shipping.. set that puppy up and play.

Balls can wait if you don't have new ones in hand. No need for double checking all those connectors/etc that will prove themselves to be working or not by themselves.

Save the waxing for after the first few days and you've gotten settled in with the game.

just design your own game from the ground up if you are required to learn how every single thing works prior to operating.

I always throw my new cars up on a rack and go through every bolt and all the electronics...sure it takes a few weeks and I had to install a rack in my garage but man, the peace of mind is worth it!

I'm not sure why people are ridiculing the idea of checking out a new game before you play it. I'd at least check to see that the magnets are level, since playing with unlevel magnets will definitely hurt your new game.

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I guess it depends on what you're expecting. I know in the past, I've called them about Data East games (from 25 years ago) and they try to help you figure out what's wrong. It seems to me that they love pinball and try to do the best they can within reason.

I believe he was the guy that used to help me with Data East and Sega games....

ya he hasn't been with Stern for Almost 10 years now I think. He works for Namco

JJ

Long live chaz, any problems I've had on my nib purchase was quickly remedied by this guy. He even called me back. Stern should be proud to have him on the payroll.

Maybe we need a way to honor guys like this and Joe. It might even encourage them to stick around. Thus my feature request in this thread with similar shout-outs:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-true-pinside-angels#post-3083314

I had a bad node board on one of my routed kiss machines. Went to my distributor and it was taken care of. sent me a replacement board and all is good.

If magnets arent level then you'll notice on your first couple play throughs. Along with any switches not working etc. You definitely do not need to power off the game and check every connector. Then before ever playing test every single switch in diagnostics.

As far as pinballs, the stern balls are usually quite good if you take them and clean them with windex before installing them.

I've never even heard of leveling magnets. Can someone elaborate? Google's not much help on this one. I'm wondering if there's something I should be checking on my existing games.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/adjust-stern-pf-magnet

Recognize that Stern uses Loctite equivalency on magnet core threading.
Little adjustments pay big dividends, and avoid long term damage.

From the standpoint of warranty, Stern has been very good at addressing issues that were caused not by the assemblies purely themselves, but the PF surfaces surrounding the cores. WAY above beyond, what they had to do.