[Jukebox-list] Dave please read this

[Gary Young]

Dave Halford <dave.halford at telent.com> wrote:
 I'm pretty certain no one keeps a good box in the
garage/shed for 
years
> then sells it claiming 'it worked well when put into
storage'

Dave, have a read of my story posted a while back
regarding the V200. It might change your views.


Jukebox Adventure..... I remember many years ago going
to look at  SEEBURG V200  which  a friend had tipped
me off about. Easing past the barking guard dogs, I
found the machine located in a very filthy run
down/near collapsing building with no electic light.
In the dark, hidden away in one corner was the V200
surrounded by piles of waste high old books,
magazines, bags of old clothing and other asssorted
rubbish. The machine was owned by a very grumpy and
unfriendly old man. It was in a very poor state with
lots of rust, although looked complete. I told him I
would need to see the back of the machine to establish
if the back door with most of the essential parts was
still there. He assured me the machine was working and
complete when it was stored many years before (heard
that before). He got annoyed that I had the the
audacity to doubt him. The price was £700 UK pounds
(approx $1400 US).  He told me in no uncertain terms
to go away as he thought I was wasting his time. I
left deflated but undeterred. I knew, with my lack of
knowledge and the state of the machine that this was
going to be beyond me in terms of the cost of
rechroming and spare parts needed and my lack of
technical know how. What did I do? Well I called
another friend who was an ex operator and restorer of
Seeburgs for advice. We came to an agreement that If I
could get the V200 for the price, I could have a fully
working restored AMI G80 in exchange. I was happy with
the deal, but had to convince the seller to part with
the machine. Its surprising how some peoples attitude
changes when you mention hard cash. The only way he
would sell the machine was as seen and I was still
unable to see if the back door was in place. I took a
huge leap of faith, some would say an act of extreme
madness and parted with my hard earned money. We had
to wait a week to collect the machine. Boy did I lose
a lot of sleep over this one. The passing days seemed
like forever. I could have just blown £700.
Fortunately as it turned out he was a man of his word
and he had cleared a path through the rubbish for us
arriving a week later. And yes the back door was
there. He also included an original manual. The
machine was finally restored, but not without
considerable time and expense. My friend told me that
the machine would never have played in a million years
as it stood. Amongst other things, several switches
were missing. So the old guy hadnt exactly been
telling the truth. Still, all three of us got what we
wanted out of the deal. The V200 I believe was later
sold for a handsome sum. I had several years enjoyment
out of the G80. I only sold it as I needed the money
at the time.

Gary


		
___________________________________________________________ 
All New Yahoo! Mail – Tired of Vi at gr@! come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html