Alright pin guys

[horseboy]

What do you guys think?

I have been looking for a first pin project for some time now. This one is 5 minutes from my house. It seems I may be able to get it for around $150 or so, but who knows? I just found this a second ago, and with 11 hours left I may not be able to get a response to any questions that I have. Playfield seems to be complete, and the backglass looks to be in pretty good shape.

So based on the miniscule amount of information provided, what do you guys think?  Does it look like it could be a good starter pin at around $150?

Thanks

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=415

[shardian]

He has a reserve price, so odds are, you won't get it for $150. I've seen several EM's in my area go for $100-$150 that needed work on ebay. I'd recommend you go ahead and contact him and mention that if it doesn't sell on ebay, you would still be interested in seeing it.

[horseboy]

Man, my ebay-fu has gotten weak. I don't know how I didn't notice the reserve. ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Well, just pretend there isn't a reserve then.

And yeah, I will try to see if I can see it if it doesn't sell.

[vintagegamer]

If I can make a suggestion, if this is your first pin, you may want to get one that WORKS but just needs some TLC..  That's what I just did last week- you can see my 812 posts on any threads that say "Sorcerer" 

Good luck!

[JeepMonkey]

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/for/339617372.html

This guy has a non-working Charlie's Angels and a partially working Jive Time for $150 each.  He is in the Kansas City area.

With my Ms Pacman (I think) almost finished, I need a new project.  I am considering the Charlie's Angels, but not sure yet.  There is an arcade auction here in Kansas City in a couple weeks, so I may wait and see what is there.

Road trip?

[ChadTower]

It's an EM - harder to find help around here for those.

No way of knowing completeness - there would be a LOT of stuff under that playfield you'd want to see if you're worrying about that.  It can be much harder to find replacement EM parts for a newbie.

That said, $150, if you can actually get it for that, is reasonable with the pics and amount of info.

[nostrebor]

Horseboy, you are in NW Arkansas? I've got a contact in your area that might have a few pins for sale. I'll toss you his # by PM. He's more of an SS guy but he might have some EMs.

I do agree with PBJ, that ebay one looks boring.

[modessitt]

I've restored a Cabaret and don't think it would be a good "first" pinball project.  Unless you LOVE old pinballs, you'l get bored easily while playing, although young kids will love it.

And pinballs are completely different animals than videos, especially EM's, so be prepared to take a LOT of time to fix even simple problems.  3 hours of troubleshooting to find something that take 3 seconds to fix is quite common.

I agree it is a good idea to get (your first) one that is mostly working with minor issues and cleaning needed.  Learn on that.  Read Marvin's marvelous guide to pinball repair and try not to mess it up.  Then, when you have some confidence in them, get a project.

I also wouldn't recommend a "small flipper" game for your first pinball unless you're used to them...