I agree with all this, but I also think a seller should allow a buyer to take his time to inspect the machine. And even let me play multiple games on it. Sorry, but a quick 3-8 minute game is not enough time to make sure the game functions. I would like at least 3 decent length games. Not for the joy of playing. But, to make sure everything works and resets and comes back and all that jazz. Its like dude. You posted that game for sale 3-4 weeks ago. It won't kill you to let me make sure all the switches are working and that there aren't any mech issues.

My first pin purchase there was a tiny tell tale sign that I noticed, but i didn't think was a major issue. Turns out it was and now I have a huge old paperweight for a machine. Not blaming anyone except myself. But, it truly is a live and learn experience. As for the bricked machine, I think I will just buy another of that model and keep my original for parts.

You're right about the test modes... Some of the older pins though the test modes confuse me. But, also there could be an electrical problem and all the switches can still pass the test modes, but then later on you find out that the switches are not firing properly. And I think if you're looking for a specific pin, you're more willing to not give a crap. As long as it looks nice when you pick it up.
You'll worry about how it works once/if it survives the trip back to your home.

Also, I want to know how strong the pops are and how strong the flippers are, along with the other stuff. The kickbacks, the scoops. Any other mech the game might have. I need to know how they function. That is why I want to play a few games. And then possibly still be able to take the glass off and just operate the switches by themselves. It doesn't take long. And I only showed up, because I will buy it. Provided its not a turd.

Well, the ten cent version of the story is as follows:

I drove 6 hours to pick up the pin with my brother. As stated its my first pin. New to the hobby, but I did a lot of research, watched videos, and was browsing online for many months for what pin to buy. With all that being said I still knew nothing, and I slightly overpaid to boot. Especially since his pin was listed on both ebay and pinside and was cheaper on pinside, but i foolishly and accidentally paid the higher ebay cost. Oh, well. They have buyer protections, and more fees. So not really a big deal. Just a minor grump.

While testing the machine(and this was a machine I knew the rules really well on) I had only one more shot to go on the captive ball shot to get an extra ball. Well I hit a different shot which was nowhere near the captive ball, and then I hear and see the EXTRA BALL animation. I commented about that being strange and not hitting the shot. But, perhaps there was another way for that shot to register.

Turns out chip on the mpu board was already showing tell tale signs of not being able to work properly. An then over the next few(and I mean few) months of my ownership, it got worse and worse with the chip misreading and firing random switches and not the ones I actually triggered, until finally the whole thing just stopped working.

If I would have done my research I would have known breakshot's and capcoms are rare machines. I did know the rare part, but I still thought, hey its technology, can't be hard to fix, because someone somewhere should be able to fix it. Turns out these chips for the MPU board are very rare, and very costly. So that puts a damper on me wanting to even get it fixed. Even though I love the game...

Not a horribly interesting story. But, I did catch that fault. But, I wasn't smart enough to realize what had happened. A learning experience, but a costly one.
The seller was a nice guy, and I don't think he knew what was going on. No ill will or malice to him. And today I still wish him the best. He even was the one who verified me for pinside.

No... Worst case, if it can't be repaired anymore. I'll buy another working breakshot and just part it out. Its in really good shape.. Just takes up a lot of space is all.

Trust me dude. There are only a handful of people who fix capcom boards. Spoke to the guy, he had like 2. And I know of one that got sent to him for repair. So yeah... It is a rare chip...

I did have a guy from CGC tell me he might know of a guy who could fix it... Haven't heard back from the guy at CGC, and I doubt I will, and I don't want to bother him even though I have his number.

If its a great game... Sure... But, if its a quick short game... Then no... And again... I want to see how the game restarts after it ends. Lots of things can go wonky after multiple games.

So... No... I don't buy that. Sorry. Its not a big burden to ask to have 10-20 minutes to make sure the machine works.
Because also with my breakshot issue. It started rebooting after 7-15 minutes of first play. It rebooted once and after that worked fine for the rest of the night(until it finally completely broke).

So... Again... I'm buying something for probably 1-6k... Maybe even more... You can't give me that time to check for my investment.

Well, then you don't want to sell, and what are you hiding.

Its the opto-switch chip on the mpu. It's fried and doesn't work. If you have contact info. I'd be glad to look it up and have it repaired. I was told starting price was 400 dollars. And that was the starting price for the fix... Could be more. With first class shipping and tracking. Both ways, that adds up, and then of course a minimum 10 week waiting period for repair.

So I wanted to wait to see what really wanted to do.

I've done so. And that is the extent of the help that I got.
I also hired a professional pinball tech to initially repair it, and he couldn't. Hence the pinside post.

As I said. I probably will go the route of buying another breakshot. And then keep the best pieces of it.
My only issue with selling my machine.
I really don't want to rip any one off. And even being open and telling the person about the issue. I just still don't like the idea of selling a non working machine to someone. Especially since I think 700-1,100 is still a fair asking price for it. Cab is in good shape. Mechs are all working, and the translite is mint.
My hope... Is that someday a replacement board will be easily available. And that is why I haven't tossed it, or sold it. And I'm not going to toss it. I'd store it in my basement before I would ever do that.

Trust me. I like to preserve these games too. Which is a minor reason why I didn't sell. Because, I could sell it and recoup some of my money back. But, then the person who bought it from me, might just junk it. And i'd hate for that to happen.

I've never said to remove the boards. Inspect the boards yes. But, not remove.
And again. I don't go into a purchase without actually wanting to buy the machine. I'm not there to kick tires. Once I show up, the odds are likely I am leaving with that machine. But, again. if their are warning signs, I will thank the seller for his time and politely decline.

This is why pre-sale correspondence is so important. That is a good time to get video of the game if possible. get more pictures if possible or needed, and also I would ask about the stairs. How many. The condition and slope. Possibly a picture of the stairs. And any difficult turns.
I don't want to waste anyones time. But, I also want to make sure I get what I pay for. If I am buying a project or beater machine. then you have to be realistic with its condition. But, if I'm buying a RESTORED machine and it has gouges on the cab and playfield... Or broken plastics. Then yes, I might be hesitant to pay the full price. But, as stated that can be sorted out pre-sale. If your correspondence is both efficient an honest.

I don't know... I posted a long time ago on what was wrong. Don't think I ever mentioned the chips full name. I just made sure to ask the pinball repair guy if all I posted was correct. He said it was... But, long time ago. Just know its the chip that's on the main MPU board, and its responsible for recognizing all the switches. It is fried. Correct power and wattage goes to it... And thats really all I can remember before I go digging.

Okay... So here is all I know about the issue. It happened 8 months ago...
The issue is with the main mpu board. Which is the small board that is attached on the same panel as the dmd.
The pinball tech tested it with all the voltages and checked for broken wires. And he doesn't want to mess with it, because the chip in question is an embedded chip.

This is what the repair tech said happens:
"The game comes up but the center post keeps going up and down eventually fails the test like the game doesn't see the switch that says if the post is up or down. The switch itself is working. When opening the coin door the diagnostic screen does not come up. Again the switch is OK. To be sure I jumpered across J9 pins 9 and 10 on the CPU board and still no self test. Fuses are good. DC voltages are good. I reseated cables including the large ribbon cable and no change. It appears that the switch matrix is dead. I can see the voltages changing when grounding J9 pin 9. The first suspect IC in my mind would be U11 but the problem could be farther into the board."
I've attached pictures of the board...

Ps... to the poster who suggested I contact capcom... I like that idea... I don't know if it would lead anywhere. But, I think I might try to email them. Maybe perhaps they even have a few older boards just sitting around they could sell... Not likely... But, you never know. And its just an email to find out.

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