How We Bought a Bad Girls Pinball Machine for €800 Without Overpaying
A Trick for Finding a Cheap Pinball Machine
Send messages on old listings that are a bit overpriced. If the listing just went up, the seller won't budge much on price — but a month later, they can become surprisingly flexible!
Since the seller lived far away, I put it on the back burner and followed up 40 days later.
And this time, the seller was already ready to drop the price significantly. It had probably been three weeks since anyone had messaged them, and they needed the garage space!
So I asked for photos to estimate the repair cost:
Photo Analysis 👍
- Driver board dead, needs replacing.
- CPU board shows signs of soldering — worth replacing too, can't hurt.
- No display lit up in the "powered on" photo — could be the CPU, so that's my working theory.
- Underside of the playfield is clean, no hacks.
- Bottom of the cabinet shows no ground mod, and the power switch has been replaced — not the tidiest job, but shouldn't cause issues.
Estimated Repair Costs
Potential repair costs:
- Transport: Depends on your location. Pinball machines fit easily into a wagon. For example, a 300-mile trip in a fuel-efficient diesel wagon would run roughly €55.
- CPU and Driver Restoration: Restoration kit from Pinballs.Store at €289 + €12 shipping = €301.
- Small Parts: Rubber ring kit, balls, bulbs, fuse kit = €65.
- Other: Glass cleaner, elbow grease, patience, soldering iron, etc.
Total Estimate:
The seller is asking €800, but given their situation, there's likely room to negotiate further once you're there in person!
- Purchase: €800
- Small parts: €65
- Restoration kit: €301
- Transport: €55
Total: €1,221
Installation and Repair
Once the machine is home:
- Step 1: Do a ground mod. This will save you a huge amount of random, hard-to-diagnose trouble.
- Step 2: Install the new boards following our installation tutorial. Check the power supply voltage and power it on. In 80% of cases, everything just works!
If it doesn't, follow our troubleshooting guide. If the problem persists, reach out to us for a free video-call walkthrough.
Conclusion
With a little patience, you can find a pinball machine at a fair price and get it back in working order. Once repaired, you'll get to enjoy trouble-free games! If something isn't working the way you'd like, use your machine's test mode to diagnose and fix issues easily. Good luck on your quest for the perfect pinball machine!
