Ever think "I got a good deal" but then realize how much is gonna have to go into it?

[gutsman004]

You buy a $1500 car for $400, but then have to put another $1600 in it to make it street legal = Bad deal.

You buy a $600 cocktail game for $50, and then do about $70 work to get it working = Good deal.

You buy a $600 cocktail game for $50, and then do about $700 work to get it perfect or better than original = Bad deal.

You buy a favorite game in any condition and restore it to it's former glory just like you remember it so you can enjoy looking at and playing it. = awesome deal!

 

[wrongdon]

Pay attention to all the guys that get excited about their "good deal" on a machine and then come back with all kinds of repair and resto questions that ultimately land them in the not so good of a deal category. We all use the term "good deal" but in reality, hundreds more are spent by the time it's all over.

This describes most of my games,i pick em up cheap and fix them up over time.It's like buying a 7-800 dollar game on credit.I did try buying a nicer game once,asteroids,it needed nothing.It was a very strange feeling standing in front of the machine,and the only thing to do with it was to play it lol.I really enjoy the beaters,to me they are a good deal as i get months of fun putting humpty dumpty back together again.

 

[pookdolie]

You buy a favorite game in any condition and restore it to it's former glory just like you remember it so you can enjoy looking at and playing it. = awesome deal!

This is true!

 

[spoonman]

I will chime in as well every game I have owned was either not working or converted. It can be fun restoring a game but man it is costly and time consuming.

 

[FrizzleFried]

I really considered buying Dave (ArcRevival)'s TRON he had for sale... but TRON is a game that absolutely needs to be in restored condition to set foot in my game room. That means $400+ in art alone...

 

[tigerstyle]

I dont do this for money, or while thinking about the resale value. I only buy games I really want, and that I really want to restore. But there's a minimum of course... I have no real interest in buying a gutted cab with no monitor. I want a decent monitor

 

[xxstatic]

Being so new to all of this I didn't spend much time assessing real value to my purchase (DK upright), it is currently missing the top panel on the rear of the machine(serial plate), had no t- molding, missing the wood coin catch box, monitor bezel, cracked marquee right down the middle, no side art, coinmechs have broken leaf switches, other than that is functional, I paid $260 for it, oh and it's sides are fiberboard...
I wish I would have came here first, I would have paid more for one that didn't require as much work, I'm not real confident in my resto skills but I'm going to be learning on my favorite machine of all time.....gulp....

 

[Mike Doyle]

Amatures, wait till you have to buy jukebox resto parts!

Door plastics alone for a 1015 are right at $500 bucks, then there's all the related crap and don't get me started on what plating cost.

It's very easy to sink 1K in an old box without any effort.