How much ?

[steamfitter]

When you pick up a used game

How much money do you spend to recondition a game ?
How many parts do you change to say it's recondition ?
How much time do you spend reconditioning a game ?
Or
Do you do the minimum just to get the game working ?

[mrmikeman]

Times have changed. I suppose it depends on the game. There are no reasonably priced projects it seems. Folks aren’t prepared to pay extra for a nicer game. I’m in for 8500$ on DW not counting the time. That’s considering I got it for an ok price to start with. I can’t even get 7000$.

[Murphelman]

If it were a game that's going to be bolted to the floor I would be inclined to spend more on it to get it perfect.

I usually get a game working and looking nice with small tasteful mods and lighting. That is enough for me and does not cost a ton of money or time. Big money spent on restoration usually never gets recovered.

Or you could ask $6,000 for a Gottlieb Victory or $6,900 for a Pinbot and hope to find someone who doesn't know about pricing to buy them.

[Guard]

Or you could ask $6,000 for a Gottlieb Victory or $6,900 for a Pinbot and hope to find someone who doesn't know about pricing to buy them.

YAY!! It's not just me then.....

[Honey Badger]

Geez Bruce, you got a great deal from me on that Victory!

[Guard]

Geez Bruce, you got a great deal from me on that Victory!

Ya' think? Maybe I'll undercut them and let it go for a measly $5000.......or trade for a unspoiled soul.

[steamfitter]

Reminder , the question was how do you put in your game .

[steamfitter]

I put money in my games to get them to play solid and reliable 100%

Average $500 to $1000 in parts per game

No cosmetic no candy

And hours in labor

[Murphelman]

If it were a game that's going to be bolted to the floor I would be inclined to spend more on it to get it perfect.

I usually get a game working and looking nice with small tasteful mods and lighting. That is enough for me and does not cost a ton of money or time. Big money spent on restoration usually never gets recovered.

Or you could ask $6,000 for a Gottlieb Victory or $6,900 for a Pinbot and hope to find someone who doesn't know about pricing to buy them.

I believe I gave an appropriate answer in my first response. I guess it was not good enough and offended you enough to resort to name calling again. But I guess that's ok for certain people on here while the others get banned.

Good to know.

[steamfitter]

Funny how you guys show up when i talk about Mike .

I don't see a number in your answer

[Murphelman]

Funny how you guys show up when i talk about Mike .

I don't see a number in your answer

How can I give you a number? Every game is different and requires different levels of time and money. Sorry my answer was not good enough for you.

And I don't know who Mike is. Sorry.

[steamfitter]

[Guard]

I have no idea what is going on here......sorry if I butthurt anybody. I was just glad that i wasn't the only one who went "Wait, what?" at some funky prices I saw on a website. Carry on...

[Guard]

And if the OP needs an answer I put in whatever they need to work right. I have never spent a cent on a "mod". I kind of get a chuckle out of those that expect to get their money back on those.....i want pinball, not pretty. I'm pretty enough....

[steamfitter]

This is what the funky price site doe's to there games

https://pinballmedics.ca/ottawa-pinball-sales-boutique/

They guarantee in writing that they work better than new, and will continue to do so in your home for a very significant length of time.

[steamfitter]

I 'm lucky if i break even but i enjoy working on games .I have over $5000 in my bally star trek but I enjoyed the project .
I spend most of my pinball time working on games , it's what i like to do

Working on games is not for everybody

[Guard]

This is what the funky price site doe's to there games

https://pinballmedics.ca/ottawa-pinball-sales-boutique/

They guarantee in writing that they work better than new, and will continue to do so in your home for a very significant length of time.

For 90 days. To at least double the price of a game? And it's still a Williams Millionaire......don't mean to throw rocks but for for a couple thou more I get a brand new Hot Wheels from Player One with warranty.

Just sayin' I couldn't do it.

[steamfitter]

This is what the funky price site doe's to there games

https://pinballmedics.ca/ottawa-pinball-sales-boutique/

They guarantee in writing that they work better than new, and will continue to do so in your home for a very significant length of time.

For 90 days. To at least double the price of a game? And it's still a Williams Millionaire......don't mean to throw rocks but for for a couple thou more I get a brand new Hot Wheels from Player One with warranty.

Just sayin' I couldn't do it.

I wouldn't pay those prices ether because i work on my games but some people don't want a game with issues . The story i hear the most is ' I got home set up the game, the game has issues seller won't answer phone /won't reply.

Your wright same price as a new game but they don't build theme like they used to . I think a recondition classic game will outlast a new stern

[Sparky]

I swore to myself that I wouldn't post, but I can help bring back the discussion on the rails.

The answer is quite simple. If you have an emotional attachment to a game, then, you no longer look at the numbers.

Assuming I look at how much I make per hr at my day job, and the cost of parts and materials today:

I am currently at 7500+ on a Fathom I am rebuilding from leg leveler to backbox key lock, loving every minute of it.
I am at nearly 2000$ just on a Pink Panther cabinet I am rebuilding from scratch and designing custom hand-painted art on
I have hundreds of hours into rebuilding boardsets and fixing things on other people's machines... things I was not even paid for.

And I don't care. Because I love the games.

This said, if we put reseller-pin-flipping aside, put a Medieval Madness in front of me for 2500$, and I won't even look at it. I have no attachment to anything past 1988, other than maybe 5 machines. So, investing 5 bucks on a flipper rubber for a JunkYard would disenchant me completely.

But, give me a completely roached Gottlieb Force II, and I will have a smile on my face if I were to spend 400$ on a backglass alone.

And as for the price of retail games these days? No offense, but to point a company that legit rebuilds a machine (flipper units, targets, all boards, power supply, and offers warranty) prior to selling is a bit harsh, when I see resellers pass a rag on a game and list it for more than the business does, and only offer a 30-second/30 feet warranty.

So, let's not derail. Not worth it.

[World_of_Warships]

I started last March in the hobby, on my 6th pinball and 2 arcades. I've picked up only fully working, good looking games with limited stuff to fix in them. I'm just not there yet! Lol

But as I started to get under the hood, I'm finding some issues I want to fix, not because the games won't play nicely, but I feel it's part of the fun, right?

So, some games I've already bought $700 to $1000 worth of parts. In some cases, I'm even working with a few other guys designing new replacement parts or new mods - again, there's a fun factor in doing that! Cost wise, yup, adding a few hundred there (including me breaking parts when doing tests!

So, I can't say I recondition games like most of you guys (btw, I haven't heard of Tinyrodent for a while!!). I just try to make the games better, replace broken parts, add a few components/mods that are needed based on what I read on the forums. No rainbow puking in my world, doing things as close to 'stock' as possible!

I don't do the minimum just to get the game working, of all things I hope I'm improving! And I don't see the time passing by when I work on those games, too much fun!

[frosken]

I like to use the "it depends" mode on the question...

I see pinball machines similar to used cars.

Would you spend $50K to fix/restore a Ford Pinto or a K-Car??
On the other hand, would you spend 50K to fix/restore a C1 Corvette?

Obviously, there is a minimum that you need to put into it...lights, rubbers, mandatory repairs, etc.

I see it more like "is it worth it"? If you spend, say $400 on "aesthetics" (i.e. cabinet stickers, backglass/translite, plastics), will the machine be worth "$400" more?

I usually use the "strategic" approach... is it worthwhile?, is it a must do?, Is there a value add?

Best example would be my summer acquisition: Black Jack.

The cabinet and back box was stripped and veneered. To you purists, you would see this as an abberation...but TBH, in my mancave, it doesn't look too bad...matches the wainscoting fairly well!

Do I think it would be worthwhile to re-strip it and redo the cabinet? HELL NO!!! I rather contemplate on installing the "Black Jack 2020" mod instead.

One thing for sure though: don't charge your time...it is a bottomless pit. The "overage" of retailers is not related to parts, but related to labour. The biggest issue with that is you then hit the "abnormal pricing" when you do the final tally.

If I rely on the "work" I was doing 10-ish yrs ago to "recondition" a machine, I would put roughly 30-50 hours, depending on what was required. Did I enjoy doing this: HELL YEAH!

Do I have the same "drive" today: ...err...well...hmmmmph...

...depends on the machine I guess...time will tell.

Mes deux cennes

frosken