I think the crappiest full working DMD you might find may set you back a cool fifteen hundred simolians.

Think Stern High Roller Casino or Jurassic Park the lost world.

A full working non project DMD under $1500 is like looking for a Dodo bird. While it may exist, good luck finding one.

Nope. Just about every game I have bought that wasn't NIB was found at a "Discount" price, let's say. I put in a lot of elbow grease, know-how, and learn what I don't know...usually keep them for 4 months or so, then out the door they go and I find something else. Not just DMD, but early solid states and EM's too. With extremely few exceptions, I've *never* lost money on used games I've bought in the 500-1200 price range, even after considering things like replacing acid-blown MPUs and shopping the game out.

What are you, some kind of idiot?

I kid, but really, you can still find decent DMD games for $1k, it may just take some patience. I have a deal pending on my Shaq Attaq for right around that price point, and I passed on a working-but-had-water-damage Rocky And Bullwinkle for $700 (Someone with enough time could've doubled their money on that machine I bet, but to get it looking respectable would've been a hell of a project.) Now, that R&B is kinda the exception to the Norm, but the point is, there are still projects out there.

Lethal Weapon 3 is a fun game, and it tends to sit unsold at anything over $1000; you might find one around $800-1000 with some patience.

*edit* I actually passed on a Striker Xtreme a member here was selling for $1000 a while back due to space reasons as well. That was a HELL of a deal, and it sat for a while.

Personally I'd go system 11 for what you want to spend. I'd much prefer a nice pinbot to a Tee'd Off.

If you do go DMD for $1000 or less, they're out there. My friend just sold a Teed Off (no topper) for $1000 and a Cue Ball Wizard for a $1000. Both are DMDs.

You could just save up a bit more, closer to $2000 and get a GOOD DMD like JM or WCS.

CBW is the biggest turd known to man... YOU SHORE NEED THAT RAMP SHAWT...

Shaq Attak!

Here is what you are facing now in the pinball hobby: Everybody fancies themselves an amateur American Picker.
That has been going on for several years now.
All the easy to moderately easy 'picks' have been eaten up. So you really have to beat the bushes now.
You have more poles in th CL water too fishing for large mouth pinbass.

Make friends/ contacts. Be patient. That is what things are about now.

You are limiting your choices severely by limiting your max to $1000 for a working DMD.
You will be in the older DE, Gottlieb DMD category with a couple of Sega, B/Ws (maybe).

from Mr Pinball ....
Lethal Weapon 3, 1992 Data East: 1000
Shaq Attaq, 92 Gottlieb: 800

You would probably find a Last Action Hero in this range.

Consider increasing your max by $500 and you will quadruple your possibilities - Demo Man, Judge Dredd, Rocky and Bullwinkle, possibly No Fear, Jurassic Park, etc.

Good luck. I am in your area and have seen lots of DMDs pass through here with very few in the 1k range unless they needed work.

I love cue ball wizard...

Street fighter 2 can be found in that price range

Do you have a friend nearby interested in pins too?
You could team up and get a pin together each pitching in $1000
And rotate the pin every few months.

I'm bored and have $1k in hand too and willing to snag a DMD for that. Anyone got one?

Point being, you an d everyone else man. Posting that on pinside won't work. People here know enough to either value their pin higher or fix said turd, at least enough to sell it for $1500.

Scour CL, be willing to drive a long ways and make contacts

street fighter 2 was the first dmd game my brother bought. and is a great starter game for the money. And imoa would the best one for the money you have on hand right now.

Dang, thats amazing. Let us know what DMD pins you end up snagging for 1k!

It really shouldn't sell for that low, if it does that is frankly a steal!

lol...I bought mine less than a year ago for $600 in great condition...seems like you thumbs downed my comment just because you own the game and are trying to make it seem more valuable than it is...the last three that sold here at auction went for $550, $625 and $700 (this one had full leds and new dmd)....it is what it is man don't try to make it out to be more than that.

+1. The system 3 I miss most. Best wizard mode ever. Wizard mode has real shot based strategy, as opposed to the usual frantic multiball bash for jackpot thing that's been done a million times

I sold a GTB Gladiators a couple of months ago for 1k. Great dmd game, with good animations, great flow, and good gameplay. Pick one of these up if you can find one.

I think I missed out on the very same Last Action Hero due to transportation issues as well. I had the same limit in mind as well, somewhere around $1000. I realized though, after much looking, that it would be difficult to find something in that range that was still working. I raised my limit to $1500 and am now awaiting the weekend to go officially pick up my second machine!

Dont count out checkpoint. 1000 all day everday

I'd suggest giving up the DMD and get yourself a clean System 11, an F-14 or such. You get a lot of action for your $$.

patience is a virtue when it comes to hunting pins. I garuntee if you buy the first thing that falls in your lap that the next day you will find a pin you want much more for way less. Make sure it has repairs you have at least a vague idea of how to fix, and its a game that you will not tire of when you play it over and over.

I would agree. Although I paid a bit more for mine, most system 3s can be had at a reasonable price, and sometimes get more play than the other brands. They have a different feel. I have Gladiators, Big Hurt and Barb Wire, and can't bring myself to part with any of them, but I kicked MM and Metallica down the road without a second thought.

Street Fighter II and Rescue 911 can be had for around a grand.

My opinion.
There's a reason games like Shaq attack, Gladiators, Street fighter, etc and games like them are so cheap.
It's because they are terrible and you will not be able to get rid of them later.
Trust me

My opinion.
Some of the System 3 games are pretty worn out. Not because they were cheaply made.
More like they had the shit played out of them. Somebody liked them. But yes, they may be hard to turn around, if that's what your after. But I know people that want mine.

i agree with this. you're limiting yourself to the very worst of a certain category of pins. dont blow a thousand bucks on the Cadillac Cimarron of pinball machines

Says a guy that sounds like he owned one! Hey man, not everybody has an endless bankroll to buy the flavor of the week, month , or year pinball machine. The guy's got a thousand bucks, and he wants a DMD. You got any better suggestions, Mr Punkypez?

haha naw, i drove an eldorado in those days. felt bad for the cimarron (and later, catera) owners. my better suggestion is to get a legitimately great non-DMD game with that money, or wait until he's willing to spend the bread to get a great DMD game. just my opinion, of course, and "great" is subjective. he could end up falling in love with his Shaq Attack, and that would be completely awesome as far as i'm concerned.

Shaq Attack is not one that I would consider. Shooting baskets is fun in the bowling alley, but wears off fast. I think 911 might fit the bill. These Gottliebs do fit in nicely in a larger collection.

Happy New Year!

Of course, if he could somehow come up with another $400, he might just end up with a Judge Dredd, folks.

Demo man is a great game in the $1400-1500 range. I sold one last year fully working and shopped for 1300, so they are out there!

I'd second (fifteenth?) people saying you should save up another $1000 and wait.

1K DMD is gonna be a turd, Street Fighter has got to be the worst pin I've ever played (could hardly finish 3 balls)

Spend $1000 on a cheap game now, when you get bored and want to trade up, you'll have a hard time selling it. Your $1000 flushed down the drain.

Spend $2000 on a better B/W or Stern and it will keep its value or even go up (Judge Dredd, Shadow) making it easier to flip down the road. Your $2000 invested.

Prices are starting to level off, people are selling more pins to afford these 8k monstrosities, so patience is a virtue.

Let us know what you get!

Opinions seem to be very mixed on Shaq Attaq... I have one that I'm selling in a couple days (already have a buyer lined up.) I can tell you that in a mostly non-pinball crowd, it and Revenge From Mars got the most play out of my collection last night. I don't love it, but I enjoy it most every time I play it, and it's a lot of game for the money.

I just looked at your collection, Biggestboss - Circus (1980 Gottlieb) and Victory (later Gottlieb.) I like Victory about as well as any Gottlieb DMD game, if not better. Victory was designed by John Trudeau, who I would say is one of the greatest designers. If Victory doesn't hold your interest, I would strongly consider avoiding a Gottlieb System 3 (Shaq Attaq, Street Fighter 2, etc.) as they play somewhat similarly.

Look for a Lethal Weapon 3, or maybe a Party Zone (which can still be had in that range) - it plays like a System 11, but has a DMD.

Oh, nice! Looks like you've chosen well.

I *THINK* you'll be fine, but hopefully someone who actually has a CRV can post. Alternately, search for threads about what cars will fit pins.

I have a nice example, fully shopped with strong coloring but I think it's worth $2,400 or so. I'd look for a faded one and you might get it for $1,800 or so.

playing more pins and refining your desires is a good thing. good luck on your search.

LOL

For what everyone is saying on here, I bought a DMD machine a few months ago, when the market was theoretically better.

The machine was posted here.

It sat unsold for over a week.

I even posted early on that someone should grab it before I can figure out how to put together the money for it.

It wasn't in perfect shape, but it is operational. There are two keys though - the first is patience, and the second is being okay with whatever comes up. Based on your most recent post, find something you enjoy, save up for it, and get that. Expect to pay more for it, especially if you want it on a deadline, but it's definitely not a bad way to go about making a purchase. Generally, those of us that get the sub-$1k deals are snagging them because we have enough machines that we're okay landing whatever and checking it out, and can fix them up. I landed five sub-$1k machines within the last year, all System 11 or up, but a lot of them required at least a decent amount of work. I'm fine with that though

no doubt on the patience comments. you can keep coming over here to help you make your mind up on what pins you really like - door is always open if i am home. the no fear is a good one for what you are looking to get pricewise and also how the playfield is layed out. you just need to spend more time on individual games, playing more than one or two games. one or two games wont give you enough to really see what you need to see.

disagree. two games is more than enough!