Anyone own a pinball machine?
 

Now that I own a MAME arcade machine I'd like to think at some point I could get a real pinball machine to go with it....

Is there such a thing as a good deal on these or do they basically always go for the same price. Is Ebay the best place to find a deal using like eSnipe? If I was rich I'd get that Lord of the Rings machine but if I could find a nice used Adams Family or something like that I'd be happy.

Show me your photos of your pinball machine!

You can find some good deals. The best place to look is the pinball newsgroup or a coin-op auction if there are any in your area.
If are willing to try and fix them you can usually get a better deal. Another place to check would be the craigslist for your area. They show up there sometimes.
I have a Roller Disco and a Strikes and Spares. I never got around to looking at the Strikes and Spares but a buddy of mine is buying it. The Roller Disco was working good but now the ball eject isn't working. Soon I will attempt to resolve. I imagine that the coil needs replaced.

In a perfect world, I'd love an Indiana Jones Pinball Adventure machine... but they're so mechanical, I'd be scared that something would break (it would have to) and I wouldn't know how to fix it. I see them on eBay fairly often, but the shipping is an absolute killer; and you're never sure where they've been, or how they've been treated.

I think I'd be better off with a MAME arcade machine...

http://www.thefoureyes.com/arcade/lw3.jpg
I traded a few arcade games for it. You can sometimes find these for 750-850.

good deals on pinball, check here: http://www.xmission.com/~daina/classified/

A friend of mine bought himself an Indiana Jones pinball machine. He loves it. It is a cool machine. I'll ask him where he got it. It was not on ebay though.

Is there a lot of maintenance when owing a real pinball machine?

www.superauctions.com

TONS of pinballs at each of these.

..and what do you know? I'll be going again this Saturday. :)

My parents had two when I was a kid. They're not too much maintenance as long as you treat them well, but there's still a heavy metal ball flying around and banging into everything, so things are going to break from time to time. I think the most we had to do was replacing bulbs and the bumpers. If you're somewhat handy you should be able to do most of the maintenance yourself, but I think it's worth it. I'd love to have one in my house again.

Greetings!
Not too good w/these linky things,but hope this works and helps,thread
from another forum in which I contributed (I own "CFTBL")
Lots of good info!
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=196642

CHEERS! jefff

Pinball machines have a ton of moving parts so I can only assume there would be a ton of maintenance.

My dad bought one when I was about 12. Luckily, my uncle used to repair pinball machines for a living. After about 5-6 years of it being under constant need of repair, we got rid of it. It was a lot of maintenance. Especially if you get a newer one with lots of moving parts that are easily damaged.

Plus, they get boring really fast. Remember, almost any game will cease to be fun after about 200 times (besides Halo 2).

I would only buy one if:

A) I totally loved that particular pin
B) I had a nice game room or bar where I entertained a lot

Don't just buy one because it's cheap. If you don't love the pin, you'll quickly get sick of it.

I've purchased 2 arcade games at auction, and I've been to one of their auctions. (I've been to around 8 total) I could't believe some of the crap they were selling and some of the prices they were starting the bidding at. They had generic cabinets that had non-working monitors, heavy wood damage, and no PCB in them at all, and they were starting them at $100! I don't know if that's typical of their auctions, but I hope it's not. I left after watching about 6 non-working cabinets not sell due to high starting bids, and watching over-eager bidders run up the prices of otherwise nondescript games. They're having another auction in my area in March, and of course I'll be attending.

I guess you've had better luck with them than me.

P.S. To stay on-topic, be prepared to spend no less than a grand on a working pinball machine, then be prepared to spend a lot of time in maintenance work on it. I have friends who have them, and love them while they're working, but they seem to break down a lot, even under limited play.

I definitely agree that you should only buy a machine you know you like. But, what I've found with pinball is that every play of the ball can be a different game experience. You might play for a long time and rack up a wicked high score on your first ball, and have your next two go down the crapper, or vice-versa. Pinball is a fun experience.

We have two. A Marilyn Monroe edition Taxi and a brand new Simpson's Pinball Party. Taxi came out in the late 80's and ours is in pretty good shape. We don't have to do a ton of maintenance, but when it gets heavy play we get a glitch or two that pops up (or fails to in this case). If you are at all mechanical you should be able to handle it.

If you end up going with Ebay, I highly recommend a seller with the id FUN. I have had several dealings with him and it has been very enjoyable. He sells lots of pins and I find his descriptions of condition to be very accurate.

I'd love to get a Star Trek Next Gen pinball. Unfortunately, since every one I've seen in many years has been in horrible condition, I assume this particular game would require lots of maintenance. Best pinball ever...

ST:tng is legendary for needing repairs. Super Auction pinball games usually go for a few hundered too much (before auction fees). The Mr Pinball classified board is good as well the the RGVAC news group. Pinball machines have a lot more replay value than arcade/video games. I've played my pinball machine a lot more than Halo 2 (but not as much as World of Warcraft).

I also wondered about required maintenance on these things. Is it something you can sorta pick up yourself, or find help for on the internet, or is most the stuff going to require a technician (do pinball technicians exist?)

One of my first purcahses once I get house will be a pinball machine I would like the Simpsons Pinball Party one as well, or like Fish Tales.. Both are pretty fun to me. and woudl be great in a bar setup.