Recently moved here and it's too hot to go outside after 10AM (100+) so thought I'd work on the rec room to keep the Missus and 8 and 6 yr olds from dying of summer cabin fever.
I'd like to get a foosball table but all the UT Craigslist foosball tables are Costco/Harvard/two-bar tabletop toys.
Forget about scouting bars for old machines as bars don't really exist here.
Fortunately, live only a couple hours from Las Vegas and there seems to be a plethora of $250 Cyclone II's there.
I figure this table will be in our house for a decade keeping friends and neighbor kids entertained. Hopefully, the rugrats won't manage to skewer new holes into each other's heads if I get rod guards.
So my questions are:
1. Get a used Cyclone II? Are there any years to watch out for? Any particular things to look for in this model line?
2. Just spring for a new coin-op Tornado? Buy once and only cry once? Are all the quality issues sorted out on the T3000/coin op line? I hope the kids will learn to love hustling a game of foosball, an essential life skill (right up there with cleaning and frying a squirrel and tying a cherry stem into a knot with one's tongue). So, I am willing to shell out the cash needed for a quality machine...if need be.
3. I was really intrigued by the Fireball line, but it doesn't look good when the round-eye American presence got fired and sales are done directly through PRC. I don't know I would buy a table for the long-haul that I couldn't reliably get replacement parts for.
4. I know online seems like I can't swing a cat without hitting a dealer that is willing to ship a coin-op Tornado to my door for $1800-2000. Any benefit to going with a local dealer? Any suggestions for dealers in my area?
5. Any other more creative buying options? Tour tables, etc?
6. Maybe get a warrior table?
Thanks in advance.