While I wait for the Pinside Wisdom to start pouring in on my above issue, I'll share my -first- TMNT Pro story.
An hour before I was going to order my TMNT NIB, a trusted local guy contacted me with his Pro for a good price. I'd played the game before and remember it to be pristine, and he'd only had it a short time. I asked if there were any issues, he said "no, no issues" and I accepted. Again, nice guy who I trusted (and still do) so I said "Just wrap it up and I'll pick it up tonight". I clearly did not do my due diligence, which is where I dropped the ball.
Fast forward to the pickup: I see the coin box top is smashed in and the handle is broken (!). But hey, it could have happened outside the machine. The cabinet has no protectors where the ratchet straps touch. Then I watch him drag it a bit on gravel (on its backside) to get it into my van. I'm cringing, but I keep telling myself it's fine. Once it's in the van I see the backside is indeed chewed up a bit. Ugh, "well, it's only the backside, it's ok" I think. Get it home, set it up, and can't get the backbox open. It's jammed, and a little bent. The coin -door- has been pushed in a bit and scrapes the bottom of the jam when you open it. And I discover the coin box isn't even the right one! Exasperated, I call him and he comes over and ultimately picks up the machine and refunds me. To his credit, once he was made aware of the issues he quickly offered to fully take care of it. I don't think he was trying to be dishonest but maybe he missed some of "the details". As he moved the pin out I guided and kept my fingers on the corners of the cabinet so that it'd gently bump my fingers instead of damaging the cabinet (something I always do when moving machines) in case of contact. Sometimes I might get a light bruise from it. That night the move cost me 3/4" of skin ripped off.
Moral of the story? Different people show different levels of TLC for their machines. And: Trust, but verify