Cleopatra was my first walk away pin too. Backglass didnt look too bad until you looked from the back. Walked away from what seemed like a shakey twofer deal, a Close Encounters, a couple of others. Probably should have walked away from a few I didn't

Drove 2.5 hours to Anza Borrego, CA to look at what could have been my first pin. Looked, said no and drove 2.5 hours back home. Ended up being a roached out Aladdin's Castle with a number of missing or burnt coils, a badly worn playfield and a backglass that had several bb holes in it. I passed not knowing anything at the time about pinball repair or restoration.

A couple of years later I drove 5 hours to Morro Bay, CA and got a nice Aladdin that I still own. 17 years later, its still the pin in my collection that has required the least amount of repair.

Every machine ever made.

I have the time, just not in the mood. Lockdown bar alone is worth $100. Predates Target Alpha which means it should be button style.
ebay.com link: 1977 GOTTLIEB PIONEER PINBALL MACHINE LIGHTS UP DOES NOT PLAY

I drove 6 hours to buy a "working" Kiss and Dolly Parton. When I got there neither was working and both were stored outdoors under a pavilion, in Faibanks Alaska. They were beyond faded and both had major planking from what I think was sun exposure. In hind sight, maybe 700 for the pair was reasonable, but not for my first pin.

Drove about 250 miles one way to someplace in Canada to get a $700 (USD) Evel Knievel. He had sent pics, I knew the cabinet and pf were rough, it played but was sluggish. I ended up walking away. About 20 min into the drive back home I came to my senses, turned around but couldnt find his address on me or remember how to get back to his house.

A few years back, I went to look at someone selling an operation thunder and barb wire sitting in an unfinished basement. I was intending to grab both since the photos looked decent and the price was right.

The operation thunder was fine for a project game, but had some strange wiring hacks for converting from EU to US power. Nothing that couldn't be corrected and repaired.

The barb wire was tucked under an alcove in the basement, and it looked ok for the most part at first, but when I looked at the opposite side nearest the wall, the whole side of the cabinet was water damaged. The plywood layer was severely warped and rippled and had separated from the rest of the cabinet. The key was missing, so I didn't open it up to see how things looked on the inside.

Given that system 3 games are quite heavy and these had to be pulled up a full set of stairs, and the fact the barb wire was badly water damaged, I only ended up only taking the operation thunder, and left the barb wire behind.

I think that's the only game that I actually walked away from. It was pretty much because of the condition and effort involved, not because the situation was weird or anything like that.

Fortunately, I've never encountered anything near the level of the "maw of despair" type of situation.

In the early '90's I walked away from a fully working, nice condition Fathom at a garage sale because at $500 I thought it was "a couple hundred too much." If I only knew...