I think we need to see more photos.

Great pin, maybe a bit high, but they are not getting any cheaper. I say buy both. Embryon is fantastic too.

Miguel, It all depends on whether you want the game for yourself or to fix it up and sell it. Research the prices of complete games in various conditions, then add the costs for a backglass, bumper caps, screened plastics and maybe a new or reconditioned playfield. From that you see if it is economically worthwhile. If you want it for your collection then you would be less interested in the cost to salvage this diamond-in-the-rough. For me it would be a no brainer since I have NOS parts to make it whole again. $2200 might be pushing the envelope though in its present condition. JC - Cincinnati

If I am reading right, 3k for both machines?
If it were local I would have a tough time saying no,looks like a reasonable winter restore job.
Mike

I'd pay 2200 for this if I didn't already have one. If you can do the work you'll have a decent Centaur.

Go get them,I doubt you will have regrets.
Mike

Yes for both. Without question

Yes for both - Embryon is fantastic too

What are you waiting on go now

My thoughts exactly.

Or, you can wait and buy a nice, complete, unrestored Centaur with a nice cabinet for around $3000.

Persoanlly, I think the pictured Centaur is worth closer to $1600-$1700, but getting both for $3000 kind of evens out the deal.

If you like fixing/restoring project pins and have the free time, grab both. Both pins rock.

I think your hesitation is just. Do you even want the second game? If not take it out of the equation. I personally would not go above 1500 in the condition presented. If you have to ask the question on price then normally you know the right answer just looking for a different one. My2C

Don

A guy here in Sweden is selling one for 28.000 SEK (3400 USD) in renovated state.

Although he has gone down in price from like 30.000 so i guess he doesnt get it sold.

I was about to post "LOL! Hellllllll no." then I see people saying "that's not so bad" or even "yeah get it". Times must be changing, can't believe people would even pay >$1200 (or hell, even over $1,000 a year or two ago) for this, even if it is a Bally Centaur. Missing backglass, missing score display, broken plastics, scratched cabinet, and missing drop targets and posts. Take a step back and read that laundry list of things wrong with it, even if it is fixable. Any other game grabs like less than a grand in that condition on a good day. I would have figured $2200 is the perfectly restored retail price of an overchanging retail shop on eBay. Can't believe it's "normal" now especially for a machine that's not even close to up to par, that's really depressing. I guess it's just a Centaur thing, or at least I hope so. Makes me sick to be honest, this pinflation thing sucks and this totally shocked me to be honest. At least the playfield is nice.

Kind of weird how he's only charging $800 extra for both though when he's charging a high $2200 for this, make sure you take a close look at the other game for sure...

Its fair but not a steal although the embryon is better than average. Id just clean centaur and make the few play repairs and just make it a player. Itll cost alot to restore and you wont get that money back out of it.

I would but I'm not trying to flip games for profit either.

Buy the pair and sell the embryon for 1200. Then you are at a decent spot to start on centaur.

Someone's there now buying them while you were asking for pictures.

Buy both ASAP!
The restoration would focus on the Centaur and probably worth it. You will be surprised how your skills as an artist will aid in the restoration of the PF wear areas. The other items are not too bad.

I don't think it's a steal. Yer gonna have a few hundred vested just to get the backglasses.. This is before whatever else. If everything seems to work it might be an ok deal if these were games you wanted. It's what the games are worth at best. I'd offer 200 less then you'd be in a better spot for the unexpected

I'd offer to buy both at $2200.

As others have said, he wants $2200 for just one, and then throws in another game at only $800 more?

Something's up, and I wouldn't trust that reasoning. A couple have made it clear you'll be dropping $500 - $700 more just getting Centaur on its feet. If that's the case, make the seller take the hit by going for both for the price of one.

Drop $2200 or $2300 in cash on the table and state that you'll take both. You'll be amazed the psychological swing cash can have on someone when it is right there in front of their face.

Seriously ....$2200 for a Centaur in that shape. This hobby is becoming nuts....

I'd pass at 2200 because I know I'm going to spend another 2K making it look/play as good as possible.

So the embryon is missing the backglass too?

Get the deal done at $2700
You can't loose

Backglasses for both are available
Don't think too long about it
Just close the deal

Don't see how you are gonna touch up that yellowed pf. Will need a cpr to look great and that's another grand. Tough first project if you want it nice.
As far as value, I restored one, played it for a year and sold it for $4000. But I did cabinet and all.

I wouldn't do it if you're the kind of person that has to have everything fixed right.
It going to be expensive too. Plastics, backglass, targets etc.
Also, if you buy a repro backglass, they aren't close to the orig. I had a repro in mine and the lighting barely came through. Great game, but overpriced at this point.

They've been for sale locally for over a week on craigslist at that price, that should tell you something. Deals in SoCal are gone in minutes. You say you're an artist and you like the looks of the game, same here, the problems it has would drive me crazy. That Centaur needs a lot to get it to the level of a $3,000 game. I agree that $1500 is a more realistic price for that, based solely on the demand of the game. And someone mentioned selling that Embryon for $1200 to recoup some cash. I don't think it can fetch that amount without spending quite a bit on it. $6-700 maybe, but not $1200.

I agree, when he buys the pair, and puts a FS on the Embryon for $1200.00, the same people advising now, will not be rushing over to pick it up...

I was lucky enough to pick up a Centaur last year for 250, but it needed pretty much everything. So far I'm into it for a new CPR playfield, an Alltek MPU, new posts, flippers and rebuild kit, plastics, rubbers, pop bumper stuff, etc. etc. That's without cabinet resto, and possible display and reverb problems, but even then the total will probably be ~2000-2200. You're right around the price where it's 50/50 to either buy and build a decent player's game for yourself, or drop more $ for a better machine. I think it all depends on how much you enjoy doing resto work, what kind of working condition the boards and hardware are in (I didn't see this mentioned above except for the missing display), and if you can negotiate another couple hundred $ off the price.

I don't know if its because everyone expects a CPR playfield in these Centaurs now a days but that playfield isn't even that bad. It would be worth just cleaning up and keeping as a player honestly. 2 for 3k is a decent deal considering Centaur is becoming tough to find/buy. Haggle him down a little bit maybe?

Also too just I realized that you are in LA? If your buying these from California I think the price is fine. Everything seems to be higher out there correct?

At least I'm not the only one that looked at this and thought it was crazy. Guess we're in the minority.

You two summed up my post nicer than I even could. Sadly I think this is what is continually increasing the prices, too, is this "okay" sense. Can't wait 'till we hit that dead spot where people get greedy and charge too much and finally even the wealthy/crazies won't pay it and the prices start coming back. Matter of time I suppose.

West coast prices are higher than back East for sure. I watch the listings back there & mostly marvel at how cheap & plentiful pins generally are.

Dang, figure $2500 acquisition by the time you add the backglass as the minimal item to make it "complete" but still needing service... So for man hours and $3K into a Centaur that still wouldn't be truly new looking, is that title really so valued these days?

If it is, and this is your only chance to acquire it for less, and you enjoy the work, and don't mind the remaining defects in its final condition... there's your value equation.

If you could sell the Embryon to fund your Centaur restore that could help, but is Embryon an $800 game in that condition...?

Pass. Too much money for too little condition with too much work.

Centaur is a classic Bally, but there are lots of classic Ballys, there's no reason to jump if you're not looking for a restore project.

And both might sound like a better deal, but it's twice the work. That's not a better deal for someone who, again, isn't looking for a restore project. Trust me, you'll finish one, be burned out, and won't want to start the second one.

If you think you have a passion for restoration then stick to a single game project and try it out first. If you don't have that passion? Walk away. Your time and money aren't worth it, you can get a better Centaur.

Wow...Why were you even contemplating.
And why were we wasting our time trying to help???
Not a chance you would do this.. Or should.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ not cool! He is looking for opinions and trying to get his thoughts together to see if it is a plan he can put together.

Mike

Those games are money pits. Yes you can make them both immaculate.....if you want to invest another 3k in restoring both machines. I would take a hard pass on both of them.

It's not a good price. After you factor in your time and effort you'll be way over what it's worth.

If you have your heart set on one or two specific machines it's pretty tough to find them for a good price because specific titles don't come up often. If you'll be happy with a good deal on a wider range of machines it's much easier to find one.