On my way back from looking at a taxi after a 2.5 hour drive. The cabinet and bg were great, the pf wasn't bad. However when I got there I noticed the spinout ramp was cracked and had glue or epoxy or something on it. One of the tabs had broken off it too, and it didn't feel sturdily attached to the pf. The arrival ramp was also cracked, and taped back together. The guy was asking $1600. I felt that was too high, and he wouldn't budge, so I walked away.

I hate driving out so far to return with nothing, but it just didn't feel right. There is more to the story though. Last week I purchased a WCS from the same guy. (It is very nice and I am happy with it). I noticed the taxi then, and my initial view of it, it looked pretty good. I didn't do a deep inspection of it because I was there for the wcs. Anyway, I made a $1200 offer on it. He declined and i left. Called him again later, he said a buyer in Cali offered to pay him $1600 and have it shipped, but he would pass on the offer for $1600 cash. I said okay, offered to give him a deposit, he declined as long as I didn't leave him hanging.

I don't know what to feel. I clearly screwed up his other deal, but it's not like I just didn't get back to him. I drove 2.5 hours out there, only to discover it's not nearly as nice as he was boasting. Thoughts? Would you have handled it differently? I apologized profusely, but he was clearly pissed, so I feel kinda bad about the whole thing.

Okay just got back. Wow, this thread really took off during my drive home! I wasn't expecting this level of opinion. I guess that more or less verifies the ambiguity of the situation. Interesting how most opinions are strong in either direction, ranging from "I was completely justified" to "I am what's wrong with this hobby". Thanks, brent149!

A lot of people are wondering if the seller misrepresented the machine. Well honestly it's ambiguous. The original CL post was deleted, and I don't remember exactly what was said, but I do remember him saying it was nice. Here is a text he sent me "This taxi is a steal at $1600 that's why a reseller is willing to pay that price and pay to have it picked up brought to him. $1600 cash it yours otherwise it leaves for Calif Tuesday am."

I don't recall him saying anything explicitly about the ramps. My bad for not explicitly asking. However, seeing as he was the only owner you'd think he'd remember doing the repairs. It's one thing to not realize something is broken, it's another to know it's broken, fix it, then "forget" to mention it. Seems like a big deal to me.

A lot of people are wondering if I agreed to buy and back out. Here's what I said in reply to the above text "Would you be willing to hold until Wednesday? I can give you a deposit or something." His reply-- "Ok......No deposit necessary just don't leave me hanging on this." Kinda iffy. I may be in the wrong here. However, it's important to point out that he supposedly had a deal arranged that he himself backed out of....."

I'll also mention that the guy is a route op and is selling all his machines because they don't make money. He does not play pinball and could give a shit about the hobby.

After giving it some thought, I feel less bad about backing out. Yeah I feel a little like I reneged, but I also don't feel like the seller was particularly honest either. I think the final moral is-- better communication. Ask explicit questions about condition, and don't rely on interpreting the sellers subjective opinions.

You may be right there. In retrospect it sounded like a clever line.

I never guaranteed anything. He made a previous deal and then backed out of it on his own.