First Pinball Purchase?

[BadMrFrosty]

If you're looking for a first pin I would recommend a good Data East title like Jurassic Park. My brother's JP gets a lot of attention from guests. As long as it's working - one of the better Data East pins would be a cheap purchase, fun machine, and easy pin to resale.

I would not recommend spending 3K+ on a first pin. Things do go wrong. Easier to spend money down the road on a machine that was only $1200 to purchase.

Someone in the Baltimore area listed a Jurassic Park pin on Craigslist a few months ago. I emailed the seller asking for information and he replied saying that it was sold within an hour of posting! These things do seem to sell quickly at the right price.

I do agree with your recommendation though - I am confusing my ideal machines with a more realistic choice. It doesn't make sense to spend 3k on a machine that I have never played extensively, not to mention if it broke I would be SOL.

I will be headed to the arcade/pinball auction in Harrisburg this weekend, setting my sights lower on an older pinball to introduce me to the hobby. My only concern with these older pins of course, is the chance that something breaks. I will try to take some pictures and at least record what the pins sold for.

 

[shess]

I found my JP on craigslist and I jumped on it within an hour. The guy said he already had some other interest too.

I would be wary of auctions, but definitely a good way to play some games and see what you like. The issues are that those games are owned by businesses which means they are probably subject to a lot more abuse and an operator might only keep it running enough to make him money. Also you won't have a lot of time to ask questions about it and see all the things that might not work properly, unless you know the game well. The final gotcha is the price. At least in this state, there's about 15% or more just in taxes once you buy a game. I think there's sales tax + buyer's premium tax + random tax.

I think your best bet for success is to bite the bullet and figure out how to work on them. If you can use a soldering iron and a screwdriver, that'll probably fix 95% of the problems. That, and read pinrepair.com.

 

[mwong168]

I am confusing my ideal machines with a more realistic choice. It doesn't make sense to spend 3k on a machine that I have never played extensively, not to mention if it broke I would be SOL.

A few weeks I got a test report error when turning on my WCS94 and I was like oh !@#$. The report showed a switch error on the goalie and upon further inspection the wire had broken off. It happens cause the goalie does take a beating but this was a simple fix with my soldering iron.

Why don't you read through this great blog website

http://www.pinballninja.com

It gives you a general idea of what is involved in repairing and troubleshooting pinball machines from all generations. You will notice a lot of common problems and fixes. Another great resource is:

http://www.pinrepair.com

Start with a cheaper popular title that you find fun and I don't suggest buying from the auction cause it will probably be either very problematic or very expensive if it is shopped or 100% working. Also since you don't have any local guiding you except us through this forum use this first machine as a learning experience that way you know what to look for when you buy your first $3k+ title. I know I almost bought mine last month, Theatre of Magic but didn't fall through so I ended up saving myself half the money and bought my Flintstones instead which I am very happy with.

-mike

 

[Steelhorse]

Well my first machine was High Speed and still have it, NO WAY would i have sold it to get a Demolition Man regardless of DMD or not! I really dont pay attention to DMD anyway unless theres a break in the action,I'am watching the playfield when i play pinball!

 

[stevenp61]

A few weeks I got a test report error when turning on my WCS94 and I was like oh !@#$. The report showed a switch error on the goalie and upon further inspection the wire had broken off. It happens cause the goalie does take a beating but this was a simple fix with my soldering iron.

Why don't you read through this great blog website

http://www.pinballninja.com

It gives you a general idea of what is involved in repairing and troubleshooting pinball machines from all generations. You will notice a lot of common problems and fixes. Another great resource is:

http://www.pinrepair.com

Start with a cheaper popular title that you find fun and I don't suggest buying from the auction cause it will probably be either very problematic or very expensive if it is shopped or 100% working. Also since you don't have any local guiding you except us through this forum use this first machine as a learning experience that way you know what to look for when you buy your first $3k+ title. I know I almost bought mine last month, Theatre of Magic but didn't fall through so I ended up saving myself half the money and bought my Flintstones instead which I am very happy with.

-mike

Very good advice. Saved me some typing!!! You REALLY need to learn some basic maintenance/repair if you're gonna own a pin. (And it's actually fun--some folks like the repair part more than playing the games! I like both.) You simply cannot be calling a tech and spending $$$ every time you get a flaky switch, stuck ball, weak flipper, etc. And these things are generally easy fixes once you know where to look. (BTW, I also really like the Flinstones, Demo Man, High Speed--all mentioned above.)

I see you're near Baltimore. I highly recommend hooking up with some of the FSPA folks (Free State Pinball Association). Very knowledgeable group, and they currently run 3 leagues around the DC/Bal'mer area. The site is http://www.fspazone.org. You can visit the league sites to try out more pins, talk to people (many FSPA'ers own several pins and repair them), and get lots of good advice on buying and maintaining pins. There's also the Fairfax open coming up in mid-April in Fairfax, VA (not too far!). Lots of good pinball games and people will be there. Best local option for getting help to buy a nice pin at a good price.

[Disclaimer: I'm a former FSPA member and hung out with many FSPA folks at Pinburgh this past weekend.]