Topic: Value of damaged/gutted brown marble

[triplehelix]

recently decided to get into foos more, and decided i want an old brown marble for my first table.  found a brown marble split cabinet not crazy far from me, but its kind of rough and not sure of what i should pay.  there don't seem to be many coin op table on craigslist up here in maine.

playing surface looks alright, goals look good, bars at least decent with a bit of rust.  it has these issues though:

completely missing ball return system.  has a flat piece of wood funneling to the ball return opening.
completely missing coin opp mechanism
no cabinet locks
i believe the top and bottom cabinets are from two different tables as the markings don't match
it has two metal feet and two plastic feet
large areas of missing laminate on both short sides

i can get it for $150 plus probably around $40 in gas and tolls.  is this table worth it with all that's wrong with it?

many thanks in advance

[triplehelix]

i don't need to know its actual value, just if $190 would be a fair price, or if i should wait who knows how long for another one to pop up.

any advice here from those more familiar with pricing is very much appreciated.

[johnwallan]

Your question reminds me of the start of this movie, Corvette Summer... except you have picked up a emblem that says.."tornado"

[johnwallan]

$200?  Well, seriously, you have to crunch some numbers, as well as assess the condition of the existing parts.  To fully refit a table can cost 2X the cost of an intact used table and it will still be crap due to chassis damage.  Sounds like you have discovered the remnants of two parts table combined.
 
On the positive side, the tornado coin op has been a static design for 20 years.  That is the old table chassis and all new parts fit together.  You can build something close to a new T3000 coin if you want for about $1000. 

At a minimum you need to be sure the goal posts are good, bearing holes ok, and the sidewall laminate is not lifting off in the playfield areas.  The playfield itself is worth $250 to replace, so will make this a bad deal if it is crap..  I bet you can't check it out...   To get started you can buy just the pieces you absolutely need, and slowly upgrade it, but sometimes full sets of parts (like rods) are significantly cheaper than buying pieces.

Keep in mind a tournament used T3000 runs around $1500usd, a used brown marble coin runs around $600usd.  Sometimes its better to let math make the decision.

Jim sells many parts here... but for your reference:
http://www.valley-dynamoparts.com/product_categories.asp?catid=18&line=3

[triplehelix]

alright, thanks john.  i'm completely unfamiliar with the values and laying the math out like that makes it pretty clear i should pass.

[Northeastfoos]

Are you from NH? I recently looked at what sounds like the same table. I told the owner it wasn't worth $50. Much better options on CL if you are looking let me know.