Thinking of Buying a Pinball Machine

[Brill Weave]

Any suggestions? I've been looking at a few games, but my best friend has a few so I would like to get something that he doesn't have. There's some dirt cheap ones out there I will probably pick up just to have more than one(Swords of Fury, Secret Service, and Tomcat F-14 for example.) But I'm looking at Haunted House, Attack From Mars, White Water, Maverick, Jurassic Park, Funhouse, and Fish Tales. I've played Attack From Mars and I enjoyed it. Have any of you played any of the other games I listed? If so, what did you think about them?

[Arnwulf]

Unless you're really good with electronics, get one that isn't really elaborate. These things break more often than you'll ever expect and unless you can fix them yourself, you'll be paying out the nose to have a technician come to your house to fix it.

[Brill Weave]

I'm not too concerned with the maintenance. Between my friend and I we were able to get his Tales From the Crypt machine working in perfect order. When he got it, it was in shambles and not working at all. The maintenance isn't bad, plus there's a pinball dealer down the hill from both of us who is EXTREMELY reasonable when it comes to replacement parts etc. The only time he actually charges a "normal" amount is when he needs to special order whatever part it is that we needed.

[Octavious]

Oh man, Attack from mars, I'm coming to visit you in PA this break Brill. I expect you to have a room clean and plenty of drinks. There was always an Adam's Family Pinball Machine at an arcade that used to be by my house. I don't think I've ever met a pinball machine i've disliked though, so I couldn't really give too much input. Give me some quarters and my attention span goes poof. :O

[Brill Weave]

Yeah Attack From Mars is pretty damn cool. A buddy of mine has a sequel to it where there's one of those holographic screens in the middle of the playfield. Makes it harder than shit to concentrate. The bad thing about Attack From Mars is that the cheapest one I've seen is about 1,800 on Ebay with another 2 or 3 days to go. I would prefer to get a cheaper game first just to make sure I have enough room etc before I go and buy a really good expensive one.

[Pikarya]

Your best bet on finding a cheap unit is if you look around on craigslist. Awhile back at my old residence a local arcade was closing and was selling adams family, medieval madness at low prices like 990$.

[Octavious]

You need to buy a Simpson's Arcade Box to go with the pinball machine. Also, Battletoads, Golden Tee, and without a doubt a Capcom Bowling. ARCADE GOOOOOOOOOO

[Kohan]

If you want to get geeky about it:

What makes a good pinball machine?

Also, I didn't read that thread in-depth, but there is one thing I can add: don't worry so much about maintenance if your machine is from the very late '80s or newer. Earlier ones are significantly more difficult to keep up, but anything after that is far easier to keep in good shape.