Who is the best pinball repairs in Melbourne - price and honesty

[ROWAN]

I am just wondering if people can list a few pinball repairers in Melbourne that can work on a game of mine and how much they cost per hour etc .
I rang and was told that Mark C in Bayswater charges $140 an hour and that seems excessive to me .
Who is honest charges a fair price and will do a good job on repairing a machine.
Cheers and look forward to any advise.
P.s I am happy to take the pin to the person.

[4_amusement_only]

$140 

[pinsanity]

What is the machine and what is the problem with it?

Plenty of repairers here with a wealth of knowledge.

$140  

It's to cover the pet food bill to feed the lapdogs. A couple of the stray mutts that hang around the premises have developed an appetite for tropical fruit. 

[Strangeways]

Could be a simple fix. Just post the issue on the forum (as Pinsanity suggested), and you will receive a lot of assistance.

My workshop rates are $75 per hour. I'd be more than happy to repair the game if all avenues are exhausted here.

[Retropin]

$140 

Gulp!!!! and Gulp again!!!!

[skywalker]

doesn't seem to be any options if your want a repair/tech to come out to you, referring Melb, for the newer guys & the mostly people that own machines & ain't on any forums or know anyone, Probably a lot a machines out in homes etc sitting idle with issues or broken down due to its gunna cost a bomb to fix & who do you trust/call,

you have to try fixing it yourself, Plenty of help on these forums also 

[Boots]

doesn't seem to be any options if your want a repair/tech to come out to you, referring Melb, for the newer guys & the mostly people that own machines & ain't on any forums or know anyone, Probably a lot a machines out in homes etc sitting idle with issues or broken down due to its gunna cost a bomb to fix & who do you trust/call,

you have to try fixing it yourself, Plenty of help on these forums also 

Agree, if you need repairs done you need one of three things:

1: Repair knowledge
2: Friends with repair knowledge
3: $$$$

[Dluth]

Chris from Pinball Medic does do house calls in Melbourne. When I got the bill I decided I better get off my backside and learn how to fix them myself! Not that he overcharges or anything, and he did a great job - it would just get horrendously expensive if you had to call a tech for every little issue. I would use him again if there was something beyond my (meagre) abilities.

[Strangeways]

doesn't seem to be any options if your want a repair/tech to come out to you, referring Melb, for the newer guys & the mostly people that own machines & ain't on any forums or know anyone, Probably a lot a machines out in homes etc sitting idle with issues or broken down due to its gunna cost a bomb to fix & who do you trust/call,

you have to try fixing it yourself, Plenty of help on these forums also 

I've already had a couple of potential "call outs" for the "Christmas pins" that were "fully done up" and didn't last long before they needed repairs. As with one of them, the "tech" forgot to plug in a connector on the driver board. Simple fixes that you wonder if they were "planted" there to begin with ? I sort most of these out over the phone.

I used to do call outs, but too many machines were THAT BAD that when I assessed the game, it was beyond a simple onsite fix. These games would have to be returned to the workshop, and then repairs done. These games started to jump in front of restoration work, so I stopped doing them UNLESS the customer brought the game to me OR the customer was prepared to wait. The standard of games sold into the home market is in some cases appalling. Every call or FB message for call outs - I try to fix them over the phone - for free. I look after customers that have previously bought from me, or games I know the history of. I completely avoid the dealer warranty calls where dealers ask for the game to be returned for a fee, but don't mention the fee to RETURN the game.


There are a lot of machines just sitting in garages. When I ask these owners, they usually tell me horror stories of the game costing "more than its worth" to fix, and in the same breath, the "repairman" will "take it off your hands" for $150, and then charge $150 for the call out to tell you the game is unrepairable.

I try to point customers to AP for online and almost instant help. If a member is local and needs a call out - I would assist IF the problem cannot be sorted out with the help of the other techs on this forum.

[solar value]

Kinda off topic, but this talk of people doing in-house repairs made me think of Clay Harrell's Pinball Ninja website. He documents his house calls on the site every week and sometimes posts videos. I've been watching them lately and they are really entertaining. It costs $20 to join, you need to send him a donation via Paypal, more information here:

http://www.pinrepair.com/donate/

[Caveoftreasures]

Even $75 an hour isn't cheap.

That's $600 a day or $3,000 per week or $156,000 per annum.

No wonder people are giving up their day jobs. Lol

As long as the person doing the pinball work is fast at diagnosing and fast at fixing, $50 an hour cash sounds better but if u can get more than that, well done.

Pinballs have become a nice and unique money earner to a small amount of those with the experience.

[Strangeways]

Even $75 an hour isn't cheap.

That's $600 a day or $3,000 per week or $156,000 per annum.

No wonder people are giving up their day jobs. Lol

As long as the person doing the pinball work is fast at diagnosing and fast at fixing, $50 an hour cash sounds better but if u can get more than that, well done.

Pinballs have become a nice and unique money earner to a small amount of those with the experience.

Yes - But try hiring a litigation lawyer or Barrister ! The Barrister we used in 2013 cost us $500 per hour to submit paperwork to a court (3 hour wait and 1 hour to submit the paperwork).

In my business, I charge $75 PH for repair work. Nothing like that for restoration work. I quote restorations and stick to the price. I often spend hours tracking parts. placing orders, doing prep work. There's no doubt that if I didn't love what I do, it would be difficult to justify the true hours with a basic pay rate. The other thing to realize (as per the barrister fees), customers are paying for 35 years of experience and some of the most hi tech diagnostic and repair equipment money can buy. I repair my own ramps (TIG Welder in house), professional Rivet Press, professional soldering and desoldering equipment (not bunnings battery terminal irons!). The compressor I use for painting is the high end commercial Peerless setups. Spray guns are expensive. Paints are VERY expensive. Airbrush I use is worth $400 alone. Eprom programmer is worth $1500 - these all add up. Not once have I ever complained about "overheads"..

I'd be surprised if others in the industry have outlayed what I have to run my business. The building alone is 492 sqm and is full of machines and parts. My motivation is simple. I LOVE what I do.

[48]

$75 per hour is a damn good rate, just take you machine to Nino and get it sorted.
Beware of people working at a lower hourly rate (for any job).
If they are cheap ask yourself do they have the right gear? Do they have insurance?
Do they have a day job and doing work on the side?
Will they be there tomorrow??

[nath2099]

I personally though $140/hour is reasonable. I wouldn't drive across town for less. Running a business in this country is incredibly expensive.

[Boots]

I personally though $140/hour is reasonable. I wouldn't drive across town for less. Running a business in this country is incredibly expensive.

The problem with charging $140 for fixing pinball machines is they quite often only fix the weakest link.
There is no guarantee another problem won't crop up.

I know of electronic engineers that only charge $95 per hour and they fix and re-design million dollar machinery