Reno, NV
I'm going to be looking at a used T2 and would like to know if there are any common problems, wear areas, etc to check. Thanks!
(Topic ID: 254523)
usually, the plastic that goes around the back of the skull is almost always broken. hard to see sometimes unless you really look. wear occurs over the center inserts and in front of the drop target a lot,like night train said.
I like to look at hard to clean areas. If clean the game has been maintained. Check the boards, by now they have had some repairs, done by someone with the right tools and experience, or by monkeys ?
Play a few games. Then check for error reports. And run through coil, flasher, and lamp tests, everything work ?
DMD look bright ?
Great game. I hope it works out for you.
LTG : )
What kind of state is it in? It's it being sold as completely refurbished, or is it a project game?
Make sure the translite is in good shape--they are nearly impossible to find.
Luckily, plastics are now available, so broken ones aren't as big of an issue as they once were, thankfully.
Like mentioned above, make sure the canon rotates correctly.
The skull and ship aren't a huge issue. They're usually broken, and decent replacements are available (just don't get the skull being offered by marco--that one is terrible). But, it's hard to be a nice original part.
The right plastic ramp is tough to find these days, so make sure it's not broken.
Agreed that going through the lamp, switch and solonoids tests is a must. Same with checking out the boards.
After that, playing.it.will give you the best feel. Is the playfield warped, are the flippers strong, etc? You'll have to play to know.
Check the holes (database, skull, above the pops) for wear. Make sure balls hit into them don't rebound out due to wear. Especially check the one behind the skull and make sure balls hit into the skull settle into the hole QUICKLY and the drop target pops back up to block additional balls from entering during multi-ball. Otherwise, you are asking for trouble.
Make sure cannon fires correctly, and is dialed in so that it actually fires whenever you pull the trigger when it is pointed at ALL of the 5 bank targets.
Pay attention to the skill shot and make sure the gun/plunger consistently hits the same target every time.you fire it.
Check for wear around the pop bumper skirts. Very common in T2.
Check for broken plastics. Lots of air balls in this game if not set right or coil sizes are wrong.
Check right (plastic) ramp to make sure it isn't broken or cracked.
Listen to DMD and make sure it isn't buzzing/making noticable noise. If it is, it'll need to be replaced.
Lift playfield and look over the bottomside. Any noticable hacks?
Look at the bottom inside of the cabinet. Run you finger over it. How dirty is it? If your finger comes back full black, it probably hasn't been cleaned well In a while.
Good Luck!
Quoted from cmack750:Listen to DMD and make sure it isn't buzzing/making noticable noise. If it is, it'll need to be replaced.
Some noise is normal. If it's loud an annoying that can be heard across the room with the volume up, then it can be a sign if an issue with the DMD
I took a look at the game today. Overall, it seemed like a decent player quality game but there were a couple issues.
I looked at the boards and didn't see any potential issues. A previous owner had put some tape on a couple of the connectors with numbers; it looked like they had needed to replace something and wanted to be sure to put the wiring back in the correct position. The plug all looked fine.
Likewise, under the playfield looked fine with no obvious hacks.
The translite looked okay with a little thinning from where the heat from the incandescent bulbs had affected it. The lock for the translite was missing. The knocker was disconnected but present. The tilt mechanism was present but the plumb bob had been removed; the owner has the plumb bob.
Playfield looked pretty good; easily a 9 or 9.5. It was extremely dirty and the owner said the rubbers were over a decade old. The hunter ship was broken. The skull had a small crack; it had incandescent bulbs for eyes. There were no cracked plastics.
When I did the test report, it showed switch 71 (target for the gun) wasn't working. I manually tested it and it was not working. I am not that familiar with the test procedures but I checked the switches using the switch test with only switch 71 not working. Light test seemed fine with a couple bulbs out but none in a row so probably just burned out bulbs or poor connections. DMD test was done and it looked good with a bright screen and no missing dots. I was a little unclear on how to do the solenoid test but it seemed that all of the solenoids were firing. When I played the game, they all appeared to work. I tested the gun while playing the game and it seemed to work fine.
Cabinet and head were okay with no obvious structural problems or large gouges. The cabinet and head had typical scrapes but, other than the front, not too bad. The front had been drilled for a coin door lock. The coin door was also scratched up pretty badly and really needs to be repainted. I'd give the sides of the cabinet and head an 8.5 but overall only a 7.0 due to the problems with the front of the cabinet.
When the game was turned off, there was a very loud electronic pop. It sounded like the sound amplifier has some kind of issue. The owner said it had always been like that.
The two areas of concern are the bad switch and the pop coming from the amplifier when the game is turned off. I'm going to post in the tech thread for opinions on those issues and if they are problems to avoid or just minor.
The biggest problem is that the owner is pricing the game at $3,700 because he looked on Ebay. I showed him the Pinside website and the terminator 2 page so maybe he'll realize that his price is way too high. Assuming that the bad switch and amplifier pop aren't significant issues, I think $2,700 is reasonable.
Quoted from SimpleSam:The lock for the translite was missing. The knocker was disconnected but present. The tilt mechanism was present but the plumb bob had been removed; the owner has the plumb bob.
Very minor stuff.
Quoted from SimpleSam:I manually tested it and it was not working. I am not that familiar with the test procedures but I checked the switches using the switch test with only switch 71 not working.
Bad switch, broken wire, or bad connector pin, possibly. Not a big issue.
Quoted from SimpleSam:When the game was turned off, there was a very loud electronic pop. It sounded like the sound amplifier has some kind of issue. The owner said it had always been like that.
Pretty much all WPC games do this. It's not an issue.
Quoted from SimpleSam:The biggest problem is that the owner is pricing the game at $3,700 because he looked on Ebay.
Common issue with people unfamiliar with market pricing. You can try to explain that the $3700 retail pricing, and you can try to show other listings, and explain that the game will need some new parts (flipper rebuilds, coil sleeves, various parts to replace broken/worn stuff) and cleaning before it's in a refurbished and "ready to play" state.
Quoted from ForceFlow:Very minor stuff.
Bad switch, broken wire, or bad connector pin, possibly. Not a big issue.
Pretty much all WPC games do this. It's not an issue.
Common issue with people unfamiliar with market pricing. You can try to explain that the $3700 retail pricing, and you can try to show other listings, and explain that the game will need some new parts (flipper rebuilds, coil sleeves, various parts to replace broken/worn stuff) and cleaning before it's in a refurbished and "ready to play" state.
Thanks. I didn't think there was any significant problem. I just think he's so far out on price that he'll think I'm lowballing him rather than offering a reasonable price. The more I think about it, the more I think $2,700 is too high. I've seen too many very nice, freshly shopped out ones at $3,000. This one will require a shop out and some minor repair and the cosmetics will still be poor. Might be worth it at $2,500 but otherwise I think I will wait for a nicer one.
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