Jump to content
Due to a large amount of spamers, accounts will now have to be approved by the Admins so please be patient. ×
IGNORED

Pinball noob, a few questions and hi!


Recommended Posts

Hi y'all, I live in Melbourne and a pinball machine is something I have always wanted to buy.

 

There was a caravan park I stayed in in Adelaide when I was a kid that had this old poker themed one and I was interested in pinball from there.

 

As you can tell from my user name, The Beatles pinball has piqued my interest. I really don't have anywhere to put it and it's only a pipedream right now although I would make it work if something for the right price came up.

 

I am a total newbie and if anyone could help me please with some questions it would be appreciated.

 

How much does the annual service roughly cost?

How often do these things break?

How much do they cost to fix?

If you play them every so often instead of every day do they last longer or should they be played more frequently?

I have read about wear and tear (damage to the surface for example) - how often does this occur? Are they that easy to break?

Have you got sick of your pinball after a decade or two or three? If I ever got one I would be holding on to it for a long time but am curious to know if they become dust collectors like spas or treadmills etc.

When is the best time to buy a just released pinball? $13.5k is a LOT of money to spend and if I could pick one up cheaper it would obviously be preferable but I am mindful that there were not many of these released.

 

Thanks in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much does the annual service roughly cost? you can do most servicing yourself

How often do these things break? minor issues happen all the time, part of owning a pinball is learning how to diagnose and fix these issues

How much do they cost to fix? fix it yourself for free, getting a tech will cost $$$

If you play them every so often instead of every day do they last longer or should they be played more frequently? pinball machines are made to be played, if you are looking for a museum piece, try an antique vase

I have read about wear and tear (damage to the surface for example) - how often does this occur? Are they that easy to break? usually happens because of rusty balls. check your balls regularly. change if necessary

Have you got sick of your pinball after a decade or two or three? some people buy a game, only to find it is not for them and sell within a week. others buy a game and hold onto it for life

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi y'all, I live in Melbourne and a pinball machine is something I have always wanted to buy.

 

There was a caravan park I stayed in in Adelaide when I was a kid that had this old poker themed one and I was interested in pinball from there.

 

As you can tell from my user name, The Beatles pinball has piqued my interest. I really don't have anywhere to put it and it's only a pipedream right now although I would make it work if something for the right price came up.

 

I am a total newbie and if anyone could help me please with some questions it would be appreciated.

 

How much does the annual service roughly cost?

How often do these things break?

How much do they cost to fix?

If you play them every so often instead of every day do they last longer or should they be played more frequently?

I have read about wear and tear (damage to the surface for example) - how often does this occur? Are they that easy to break?

Have you got sick of your pinball after a decade or two or three? If I ever got one I would be holding on to it for a long time but am curious to know if they become dust collectors like spas or treadmills etc.

When is the best time to buy a just released pinball? $13.5k is a LOT of money to spend and if I could pick one up cheaper it would obviously be preferable but I am mindful that there were not many of these released.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

How much does the annual service roughly cost? That's a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. You replace parts when needed, but on a new machine, aside from some rubbers and a few switches, this won't be a big expense for quite a few years. I'd imagine you would get quite a fair bit of home use out a of a new Stern before you had to spend any large amounts of money.

 

How often do these things break? See the piece of string above. Switches, rubbers, bushings, flippers mechs etc will all wear over time. However, I've owned machines for years without having to do anything major on them. Maybe a switch here, a flipper kit there, some bulbs and rubbers. Other machines I've had to do lots of small repairs, as they are older and more run-down machines. Some machines have needed serious board work. I can't do that, and getting it fixed is costly. On a new Stern, you are not going to need board work.

 

How much do they cost to fix? All of your questions are piece of string questions :) A serious board issue on an older machine? $300+ A new node board for a Stern Beatles? $200? Not even sure, I don't own Sterns. The likelihood of a home use only machine needing repairs would be unlikely in the first few years of ownership. Unless you play the ever living shit out of it every day. If you need to get a tech out to fix it, many hundreds of dollars sometimes. Call out fee, hourly rate for work. It ain't cheap.

 

If you play them every so often instead of every day do they last longer or should they be played more frequently? I play mine a few times a week usually. If you play it like hell everyday, sure, components will wear more over time. However, remember that these are made to be on site and played hundreds of time everyday. They hold up fine.

 

I have read about wear and tear (damage to the surface for example) - how often does this occur? Are they that easy to break? See above.

 

Have you got sick of your pinball after a decade or two or three? If I ever got one I would be holding on to it for a long time but am curious to know if they become dust collectors like spas or treadmills etc. I get sick of pinballs within a year. Sell it, get a new one. Rinse and repeat.

 

When is the best time to buy a just released pinball? $13.5k is a LOT of money to spend and if I could pick one up cheaper it would obviously be preferable but I am mindful that there were not many of these released. No real best time. Some appreciate in value, some rapidly lose value. Depends massively on the game and the market. You're not likely to get a cheap Beatles on the second hand market for a couple of years at the very least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with the above for used or heavily played newer machines but if you bought a new Beatles you should easily get a couple of years hassle free home use out of it - 1500 games or more before you need to think about rebuilding flippers etc. Sure you might have to tighten or adjust something or replace a broken rubber but it should be smooth sailing. That’s my experience with Sterns anyway.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Aussie Arcade

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you very much for all of the replies! I was expecting maybe one reply, so it's much appreciated. My questions about maintenance costs and wear and tear were to get an idea on costs to run each year and they seem ok after everyone's replies. I was worried self servicing would void the warranty but the general concensus seems to be DIY - I reckon I could get my husband to help out (I'm not experienced with electronics but he's pretty good).

 

QUOTE=Pop Bumper Pete;1239585]

If you play them every so often instead of every day do they last longer or should they be played more frequently? pinball machines are made to be played, if you are looking for a museum piece, try an antique vase

Haha, been there done that with the vases and they look pretty in the cabinet and now I've run out of room (although I don't have any antique ones). No seriously, thank you, I was trying to gauge if they were better to be played constantly or are ok to sit for a few weeks without them being played.

 

 

any more clues? happy to help you work out what game it was

I have done a Google search and I'm pretty confident it was the 1978 Gottlieb Joker Poker although I could be wrong. I remember the 'cards' that you had to flick to flip. It was very easy to play as a teenager and I remember I got heaps of free plays. That pinball got a workout the week we stayed there.

 

Welcome to AA, you`ll be able to land your first pin in no time goodluck

Thanks! We'll see how quickly I buy one, if I ever get one. It's definitely been on my bucket list for a long time.

 

 

Welcome to AA.

 

I have a platinum I may consider selling at some stage.

Thanks for the welcome! Please keep me in mind but in all honesty your platinum will likely be out of my price range.

 

I hope I have multi quote replied correctly and thank you again to everyone for their input.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your dead set on a Beatles I think that you’ll have to have deep pockets as I don’t think that many made it over here, and the ones that have I haven’t seen anything under the 20K mark

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your dead set on a Beatles I think that you’ll have to have deep pockets as I don’t think that many made it over here, and the ones that have I haven’t seen anything under the 20K mark

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thank you very much Rob. There is no way I'm paying anything near 20k so as much as I prefer this one, I might just hold out for the rumoured Sgt Peppers pinball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you very much Rob. There is no way I'm paying anything near 20k so as much as I prefer this one, I might just hold out for the rumoured Sgt Peppers pinball.

 

Just recieved this inventory list from Zax amusments in Melbourne this morning and it has a Beetles Gold on it for $13500

635295353b00bcb52d997614141d7068.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're in Melbourne you could come to a few meets. Get to play various games and meet heaps of pinheads who are full of information

 

See this thread:

I was not dreaming after all, Melbourne meets 2019!

https://www.aussiearcade.com/showthread.php?t=90468

 

 

Sent from your mums iPhone using Aussie Arcade

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And above all else if buying used it's wise to have someone who has knowledge to look at it with you. Be cautious of cheap pinball machines as most often they will require repairs and this may be very expensive if you can't do the repairs yourself. Often a fully shopped game from a retailer offering warranty and delivery is a safer way to purchase your first machine but go look at them and play them first you may be paying a premium but it will be enjoyable. Nothing worse than being introduced for the first time to this hobby with a feeling of being taken advantaged of and it does happen, lots of us here have a story to tell about the not so honest side of this hobby Edited by hotty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...