Star Wars Trilogy Pinball Resurrection

"Hey I found this pinball machine on Craigslist.  It looks like a great deal! Should I buy it?"

Here's a cautionary tale. :)

About 9 months ago, I talked to this guy about 100 miles away that had a Star Wars Trilogy Pinball.   I never saw the machine but had his description and a third party account of the condition.

 We couldn't get together on price, so I walked away.

Last month, perusing Craigslist, I found the machine available for sale. The price listed was considerably less than my last offer, it was for sale by the same guy. I called and he didn't recognize me at first.   His situation had changed, and he was hard up for the cash to pay some unexpected bills.  Hey, we've all been there.  

I told him I was interested and pressed for details about the condition of the machine.

"Man, this machine is wrapped up in plastic, that's how it has been for 2 years but let me tell you it is Not Junk!   All it needs is a $2 part and you are off to the races."

I agreed to buy it, arranged to have it brought to me and wrote down on a post-it note $600 in repairs.   :)

Fast forward to today.    

The CPU board was in need of extensive repair,

As was the Power IO Driver board

ROMS were mis-matched

Playfield toys where broken.  

Two bad coils

6 playfield wiring snafus

A broken reed switch

1 Broken Drop Target

Dirt.. Oh My God.. The Dirt and Grime ..

Missing a Starter (Fluorescent)

Bad Ballast (Fluorescent)

The Coin Door Was wrong / Didn't Engage the Interlock 

The Coin Door Had a Huge Hole from some card-based validator

1 Pop Bumper was out

2/3 of the Playfield GI bulbs were out

Stupid Hacks on the Playfield, like Wood Screws used as Stand-Offs

..Needless to say his estimate of a $2 dollar part was off by a multiplier of 500 :)

So the moral of the story is..   Be sure to be able to test drive a pinball before buying it.   B/c that $2 part the guy mentions it needs, may  just be a load o' crap.

Am I sorry?   Nah.  I have the Star Wars Trilogy Arcade machine and wanted to make the matching pair.   At some point I had to weigh location / proximity into the "should I buy" decision matrix.   The odds of finding another one within driving distance here in Southern Alabama, isn't real great. :)