I'll weigh in on my use of the car vs. pinball machine comparison, tho no economics are involved. I've used these analogies several times when talking pinball machines with my car friends (I've restored both).

Classic Restorations
Both car enthusiasts and pinball enthusiasts can fall into camps ranging from "purists" to "anything goes" and everything in-between. You've got classic restorers for both cars and pins that will repair something broken before considering to replace any part, use only original parts before resorting to after-market, keep the patina of the car or pin vs repainting or repairing any surface areas that aren't critical to the infrastructure, and the like.

RestoMods
Just like putting a modern drivetrain into a '67 Chevelle to make it as reliable as new cars coming off the assembly line, you can do the same with many solid state pins by installing modern PCBs. Playfield blown? Put in a CPR. And just like replacing that worn out, beyond repair body on that Chevelle you can get newly manufactured pin cabs for classic Ballys and Sterns or use well-preserved donors to replace your termite infested originals.

Rat Rods
This seems to be popular in my area....guys taking abused SS pins with lots of cosmetic damage, patina, missing/damaged plastics, and "history" and make them run like a top with new PCBs, rubbers, flipper rebuilds, and the like. Pins plays like new, but looks like it's at death's door.

Over The Top Customizations
Just like the car guy that takes a classic 1956 Corvette and slaps on oversized tires for a lifted rake, paints the body in art deco colors and think's it's beautiful you've got the pin guy who puts clown puke LEDs in his STTNG and thinks the same. There's room for everyone in both hobbies.

One of the better analogies I like to use is discovering that bargain project you bought home has more serious issues than you thought as you start to peel back the layers. Then you've got to make that decision - do I pour more money in it to fix it (if it can be fixed), or do I cut my losses there and junk it or part it out.

The only economic analogy I'll put in is this: The guy who restored his car and the guy who restored his pin will each want too much money when it comes to sell as they "recoup" their "investment". I've been there too many times in both cars and pins - you restore for the love of the hobby and shouldn't expect to make all of your money back.

That's typical Game Room Guys parts pricing. Fortunately, most pinheads know better.

SoF clocks in at 2700 units produced. Would you consider Centaur rare at 3700 units produced (not including the lesser-desirable 1500 unit follow-on "Centaur II" in the Bally/Midway MDF cabinet)? I'd hardly call Centaur a "turd".

First purchase: $3200 for a player's condition Eight Ball Deluxe Classic (1984) in 2018. Bought from a local storefront that has been selling and servicing arcade games and jukeboxes for over 30 years. I way, way overpaid, but I was new to the owning part of the hobby (didn't know any better) and EBD was and is my favorite all-time pin.

You can't put a price on experience, tho. On that EBD pin, I had to teach myself how to:
- Do flipper and pop bumper rebuilds
- Re-pin connectors
- Clean and adjust leaf switches
- Replace drop targets
- Measure voltages at PCB test points and at solenoid lugs

What I wound up doing to that pin:
- Repainted and stenciled the cabinet
- Installed a hardtop
- Put in new plastics, legs, and levelers
- Polished the side rails and coin door skin/trim
- Cleaned, serviced, and rebuilt all mechs
- Changed out the clown-puke color LED conversion to retro warm white for GI

New tools I picked up along the way and use to this day:
- Hakko soldering station
- Weller cordless/butane soldering iron
- Desoldering station
- Logic probe
- Crimpers and assorted hand tools
- Klein DMM
- Bench Grinder and Buffer wheels
- Playfield Rotisserie
- Dremel and accessories
- Ultrasonic Cleaner
- Tumblers

They guy who sold me the EBD is a good guy - I just paid retail (perhaps above) because I didn't know any better at the time. He helped me with answering my multitude of questions after the sale, pointed me in the right direction for repairs/maintenance (I wanted to do it myself), and at one point 4 months later (well beyond his standard 30-day warranty period) the MPU died. He gave me a brand new Alltek to replace it and didn't ask for the original MPU back. I wound up fixing that MPU myself the following year and used it for a restoration of another Bally machine.

Since that overpriced $3200 EBD purchase a/k/a Learning Experience, I've restored 4 more project/players pins acquired at more reasonable pricing (Bally Black Jack $100, Stern Meteor $800, Bally Mata Hari $350, Williams Black Knight $900) that I snagged at local estate sales. That gave me the confidence in buying/owning/maintaining some NIB pins as well (Star Trek Pro, BKSoR, Mando). I've also got a STTNG ($3500) that I bought and shopped 2 years ago but could use a full restore, and I'm currently working on my first EM (Bally Night Rider $500) that I hope to complete by this summer.

Chuckle of the day: $21 for 6 EM Chime Grommets (less than $1 each most every place else). But it's free shipping! Gotta love Game Room Guys!

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Those were the days. I saw Rush in 1982 for $10. 26 years later, I had to fork over $75.

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