First Pinball Machine

Cliffo

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Hi Guys,

I'm looking for some advice. I want to get a Pinball machine so I went to a place local to me that generally has Arcade Cabinets and old Pins and EM machines.

He has the following:

Bally Rapid Fire: Not working (battery leaked and killed the board). Looks to be in reasonable shape other than that. He's asking $250.

Atari Space Riders: Working, complete. Play field shows some wear, back glass is in good shape (as far as I could tell). Didn't see it play, but it lights up... I think he'd take $600 for that one. Apparently it's rare as Atari didn't make many Pins?

Bally Evel Knievel: Not working (battery leak again), looks like there was a fire behind the back glass, it's all covered in soot in there. Back glass looks good, lots of play field wear. No top glass. I think he'd take $450.

So, my question is this... Are any of these worth looking at more seriously? I've got no idea of value when it comes to pins, and don't want to over pay.

Thanks in advance.
 
I personally think those prices are too high for what they are, but perhaps pricing is higher in Canada (Lindsey would know better). Might want to post this to Pinball to reach a more appropriate audience.
 
I dont think you want a project pin for your first, the titles dont "jump" at me to want to spend time fixing them. KEEP looking as you find something better. Check Craigslist, for private party sales. This is also the wrong forum for this question also. But I'am sure it's ok.
 
Battery leaks are bad. I've passed up a few pinballs because of this. I heard you have to buy a new board or something. I'm not sure if thats true. Some times your first game costs more. Don't get the project pins unless you have time, it's easy to fix (yeah right) or you know someone that can fix them.

I seems that pinball have been going for more than Arcade game lately from what I've seen. I'd pay $500-750 for a good one. I think $450 is to much for that Bally Evel Knievel.
The other two seem okay. Always ask for a lower price for the games. Word of advice ;)
 
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Sorry about the forum mix up. Can you believe I've never even noticed the Pinball area... :(

Thanks for the feedback on the pins/prices. I thought they were a bit high, but had no real experience or frame of reference.
 
Hi Guys,

I'm looking for some advice. I want to get a Pinball machine so I went to a place local to me that generally has Arcade Cabinets and old Pins and EM machines.

He has the following:

Bally Rapid Fire: Not working (battery leaked and killed the board). Looks to be in reasonable shape other than that. He's asking $250.

Atari Space Riders: Working, complete. Play field shows some wear, back glass is in good shape (as far as I could tell). Didn't see it play, but it lights up... I think he'd take $600 for that one. Apparently it's rare as Atari didn't make many Pins?

Bally Evel Knievel: Not working (battery leak again), looks like there was a fire behind the back glass, it's all covered in soot in there. Back glass looks good, lots of play field wear. No top glass. I think he'd take $450.

So, my question is this... Are any of these worth looking at more seriously? I've got no idea of value when it comes to pins, and don't want to over pay.

Thanks in advance.

In all Honesty Cliffo I would pass on all of these...

#1 Rapid Fire is truly not a pin it's fun but the novelty of it wears thin...


#2 Atari Space Riders is cool but not 600 cool especially for a non-working. S.R. is the most common Atari pin. I believe Time 2000 is rarest Atari pin.


#3 Bally EK can't comment on the gamplay but the conditions you've descibed I wouldn't pay over $100 for it!
 
I guess it depends on the area, you can frequently find non-working EM's and early SS games around here for less than $200.

I got a non-working Space Riders about two months ago for $125. Total cost for the game, replacement backglass, and parts and supplies to get it refurbished was less than $300.

The Space Riders has ended up being a fun game so I'm glad I ended up getting the one I have.

-JM
 
I almost bought a rapid fire once but I just could not see how I would want to play it time and time again. I play all three of my pins regularly; very regularly. After looking at rapid fire I'm pretty sure I'd get really tired of it. In addition I've heard they're difficult to maintain due to the rapid launching and everything. Also they're way heavier than a normal pin. Normal pins run somewhere like 250lbs where I'm pretty sure a rapid fire is about 400 or so.
 
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