I want to purchase one as a gift for a family with three kids, all under 10. The prices are all over the place, from $200.00 to well over $1,000.00. I’m looking to spend about $400.00. My concern is whether $400.00 buys enough quality. If it does not, I’ll bag the idea.
Thanks.
I have a 399 table I bought at Sam’s about 12 years ago. It is still very nice.
I friend of mine bought one recently - he got one of the more expensive tables, but got it used, and expects to be able to sell it someday for about what he paid. I think he paid $600 or $700 and it’s very high quality, seems to be commercial-grade.
As long as you get a Toranado, you will be happy. You should be able to find a used one for less than $500. A used Tornado is 10 times better(*) than a new cheap-o-la table.
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Moving thread from General Questions to the Game room.
I was going to post this, too. Had a side gig for a while servicing coin-ops of all sorts (amazing the contacts one can make when your mom worked for an arcade). Toranados are sturdy and well-built (as any game meant for a street location should be), needed little maintenance, parts were easily available when rarely needed, plentiful-enough on the used market to make older models pretty affordable. I’d take any used coin-op foosball over a new-in-box home unit. Home versions just aren’t sturdy, parts are rarely available, etc. It’s like the difference between home/commercial air hockey and pinball machines if you’re familiar with the differences there.
Big issues with buying a used coin-op are shipping weight and costs. The things are beasts, and they’ll be difficult to relocate if you move in the future. But IMO it’s worth it.
Now if only I could find a reasonable used coin-op bubble hockey machine.
As has been mentioned, go with a Tornado. I love foosball. I hate anything that isn’t a Tornado.
Do they make a zombie version of that?