Good ones dirtbag66 and o-din.

I figured that one would go over better here than Walk Away Rene.

Multiple people didn't even go check this one out, so we didn't have to run away.

really_bad_Beat_Time_(resized).jpg

If I recall correctly, one guy in our local pinball club went to check out another pin or arcade game that some guy had for sale, and took a pic of this beauty that the guy was also trying to get rid of.
Our club member walked away from it, but at least he posted it online to let us other club members know about it.

No one bought it, but I think that we offered to haul it off for the seller if he paid us $100.
No deal worked out on that one.

I walked away/passed on my "nostalgia Grail" at least 7 times in four years of looking. I finally got a nice, unrestored survivor for a good price ($400-700 below market). Sometimes it was easy to walk/pass, others not.

I had been searching for a Centigrade 37 for a long time, still am. I got a lead from a friend about one less than an hour from my home. I called the guy and he told me he owned it for 30 years and it was in pretty good shape. He was an older guy so no cell phone or computer to send me pics. We agreed on an initial price based upon inspection. I get there and find the game was in a basement that has had about 12 inches of water in it many times. The legs were a rusted mess and the cab had moisture damage. A mouse had taken up residence on the PF and raised several generations in that location and died of old age between the flippers, its mummified corpse as proof. All of those things were not bad at the price and I told him I would take it as the price was still good. He then pulled the "my son looked it up on eBay and they sell for $1500. I want $500 more than we agreed." Best walk away I've ever made. Another basket case avoided.

Bought demolition man last week. Second pin ever and met the person 1/2 way. Machine is in very good condition and we exchanged several messages/pictures before meeting up. When we did meet up though, he told me about this "check switch 36 trough error that doesn't affect game play." I ended up buying it for $1,950 anyway. The machine plays fine and it doesn't seem to affect gameplay but I have this feeling in the back of my mind that it might be a big deal that I haven't figured out yet. The seller has been responsive after, so hopefully my gut feeling is nothing. Time will tell, I guess, but I do plan to no longer meet sellers half way so that I can see the games in action first. Regarding the switch 36 error, I just need to figure that out then I'll feel better

I tend to walk away from anything beyond my skill level of repair and or desire to repair.

I'm totally fine with a players beater at an appropriate price.

Love this thread!!

I generally am able to tell from over the phone if it's a machine that will be worth my time. Being able to tell if a machine is to much money or to far gone. Not saying I've never got burned. I have 12 playfeilds on my shop wall that are from bad buys. The way I look at it if I was living before I knew about it, I'll be fine if I pass it up.

Bottom line is money.

I was lucky enough to find someone who used the "first to email gets first response" rule on CL for a Stern Dracula. The price was set at $250, which seemed pretty fair to me. When I got there, the smell of electrical fire filled his basement. He said that the machine worked perfectly for years, but he just turned it on and it started smoking. It didn't freak me out much, just a stuck coil and a burned out transistor. No big deal. When I asked if he had a backbox key, he had no idea what I was talking about. Oh no, here we go. Fortunately, the backglass came right off; however, I was met with the most corroded set of boards I had ever set my eyes on. There was so much acid damage, the the corners of the MPU were rounded. The corrosion even extended to the power supply and sound board. I told the guy that the clean up on these boards might not be possible and they may need to be replaced. I didn't really feel like dickering him down, and I wasn't really ready to put another $300 plus in boards into the machine. I told him that I was sure he could get $250 for it, but I really didn't feel comfortable putting much more into it. I walked away from it, and he informed me later that it did sell. I still kind of regret it. I'm not sure if it was the right decision. However, I had just bought a Solar Ride two day earlier for $200 that needed some work, and it felt a little glutinous to be buying another machine so soon. It's kind of crazy, but I still watch videos of Stern Dracula and think about the shots that I'm missing. Oh well. Why I can't be happy with six of these damn things, I'll never know.

If the backglass was intact, I would have grabbed it. Those tend to always flake apart. The whole boardset with the exception of the sound card is easily obtainable for classic bally/stern games.

That's not making me feel any better. :/

At least I can pay personally property tax this year. Ha!

Also, the backglass was pretty flaky. The woman's leg was almost totally missing.

If it was, then you probably didn't miss anything. Trying to chase down a decent backglass would have been a pain.

I looked at a six million dollar man last year that wasn't in too bad of shape but the mpu was wasted, when I took the backglass off he said I didn't know that came off, right then I knew what was to come before I opened the door. My only regret was that I didnt snap a pic before I left, all in all it was a good buy for the right person, I wasn't really into that game to begin with but for some reason I had to have it.