I went to an auction, unprepared to buy and went more to hang out with some friends. All of a sudden, a Harlem Globetrotters was going cheap, so I decided to pick it up without ever having inspected it. I figured "it lights up, how bad can it be?"...

Backglass flaking was held together with clear tape, there was a hole in the bottom of the cab, all of the locks had to be drilled out, and it looked as if every board and display were replaced with dead ones.. it may have been complete, but not a damn thing was salvagable other than the playfield....

It may have been a relatively cheap lesson, but soured my wife on my spending on the hobby for a bit...