It really depends. In the picture the playfield looks REALLY yellowed. Way more than I would ever expect. Maybe it's just a bad picture or maybe it's a layer of dust or crap on the playfield that will come off but I would take a good look at that with the glass off before buying.
No that's not a photographic error. The playfield is really yellowed. It's hard to tell the difference between white and yellow on that game. I have to assume this is the result of the game being in a smoke-filled environment for a long time? I really don't know.
I ended up paying $300 for the machine - the seller wouldn't budge on that and they were nice folks, but I told them I thought it was a fair price but not a "steal" like they were thinking. One of them "looked it up online and it was supposedly worth $2700" - yea I don't think so. I set them straight on the price issue.
On the positive, the machine appears to play 100%. Every single switch works, the score reels all reset propertly, the scoring works the way it should - everything is there in the game, right down to the original (un-rusted) coin box, owners manual, insert cards and schematics.
There are a few odd stains on the side of the cabinet that I'm hoping I can get out. There are no broken plastics except for one target behind the drops, and I've already ordered replacements from Steve Young. The machine needs a flipper rebuild and new rubbers and some bulbs replaced here and there. The backglass, I'd give an 8-8.5 to. There is a little bit of flaking at the very top and in 1 or 2 spots but otherwise it's quite nice.
My biggest concern is the concave nature of the plastic playfield inserts over the lights. Some of them are pretty depressed. I've been going over Clay's guide on how to deal with them and am open to suggestions.
I'm also trying to figure out how I can clean the playfield and brighten it up. Gottlieb says don't use any water-based cleaners, so I'm not sure what to do. I'll post more pics soon.
